Pokemon Rejuvenation: Xen's Shadow
by The Godfeather
Summary: The Aevium Region is under attack from a mysterious organisation, known only as Team Xen. Jonathan, a young man with a troubled past, has arrived at the region, his mother getting kidnapped by the enemy team. Working with the local populace of Aevium, Jonathan stages a resistance movement against Team Xen. Rated M for violence, language, and maybe a lemon or two. OCxMelia
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, this is The Godfeather here, and I have another fic for you. I figured that I'll write a fic detailing the life of Jonathan, the rogue rival of Vladimir and Natasha, between his disqualification at the Tandor Championship, and his quest for vengeance in Reborn. It will be based off of Pokémon Rejuvenation, the excellent sister-game of Pokémon Reborn, created by SuperJanBro. I'm working on this fic alongside my trusted friend, and he suggested that I make the protagonist as edgy as possible, which considering how dark Rejuvenation is, wouldn't be too out of place.**

 **In terms of Pokémon, I figured that Jonathan would keep the Pokémon he obtained in Tandor, as a shout out to the developers of the excellent Pokémon Uranium fangame. And while it might come across as overpowered, I'll make sure that his journey in Aevium is anything but easy. As for rating, it shall be M, due to the aforementioned darkness, as well as violence, language, and maybe a lemon or two. Speaking of which, I'm unsure whether to pair Jonathan with Valarie or Melia, but I'll figure it out, as I get into the story.**

 **So without further ado, here's Pokémon Rejuvenation: The Seeds of Vengeance.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, it is the property of its creator, SuperJanBro.**

Prologue:

 _Decades ago…_

A cute little girl, no older than eight, was gazing upon a statue depicting the Disaster Pokémon, Absol. She had crystal blue eyes, and strawberry blonde hair that reached her shoulders. Her outfit consisted of a black, long-sleeved dress that had frills on the hemline, as well as a big white bow on the back. She also wore black loafers and matching coloured socks.

The area around the girl and the statue was some sort of miniature river, filled with sparkling blue water. Further into the room was a second Absol statue, as well as a Gardevoir statue, both standing on a piece of earth, surrounded by the water.

"Marianette." A woman's voice called out. "It's time for you to come out now. Your father wishes to see you."

"Okay." Marianette chirped, as she began walking away from the first Absol statue, and past the other two statues. She then left the room, and entered a long corridor, which had a tall bookcase, filled to the brim with various novels, encyclopaedias, and the occasional horror book. Down the hall were a pair of maids standing in front of a door, possibly as a deterrent for Marianette. All of a sudden, there was a small tremor, causing a few books to fall off the bookcase.

' _What's going on…?'_ Marianette thought to herself, as she walked past the bookcase, and a statue of the Legendary Pokémon Arceus. She continued walking down the ominous corridor, until she entered the room at the end of the hallway.

The room sent chills down the little girl's back; the same sparkling water that comforted her before now felt like an imposing border, trapping her in the room. On the edges of the room were close to a dozen maids, all as silent as a moonless night. An additional maid was lying down on a stone altar, an eerily calm look on her face. Standing over the altar was a tall man, with short black hair, and a greyish black suit.

"Wh-what is this place? Where is mommy?" Marianette asked the man, who happened to be her father.

"Mommy is sleeping with the lord now, my sweet child…" the man replied in a chilling tone of voice, his face not showing any sort of emotion whatsoever. "I'm sorry that things had to come to this, but I no longer have any choice. Maid, servant of the lord and I. Are you ready to meet your fate?" he coldly asked the maid on the altar.

"I was born ready to fulfil the task, my master. It is time for me to see the lord with my eyes." The maid replied, having accepted her fate long ago.

"A thoughtful answer…" the man replied, before he stretched out his arms over the altar. "Arceus! Capremdum Garuganisu oru'ma'!" he and the maids chanted over and over again, as a mysterious glow enveloped the maid on the altar. Marianette was horrified at what she's witnessing right now. Why was her father doing such things? What had he done with her mother? Eventually, the glow completely enveloped the maid and began to lift her off the altar.

"A'd seberus L'orufogeo!" the man cried out, as the light began to glow harshly, causing Marianette to cover her eyes. Once it had died out, Marianette opened her eyes, and was horrified to discover that the maid had vanished into thin air.

"Wah! Where did she go?!" Marianette cried out, her body racked with a gripping sense of dread and disbelief.

"She is gone, and will be forever. But do not fret, she's more alive than she's ever been while she walked the planet." Marianette's father attempted to calm her down, yet it did nothing to faze her. With an emotionless look, her father said the six words that will haunt her for the rest of her life. "Now Marianette. It is your turn."

"No! I don't want to!" She cried out, and attempted to run away, only to get captured by two of the maids, who proceeded to drag her to the altar, and proceeded to tie her down, to prevent her from escaping.

"Please don't do this daddy! I don't want this! I DON'T WANT THIS AT ALL!" Marianette cried out, tears coming out of her eyes and falling down her cheeks.

"Enough, Marianette! Go with some dignity at least!" her father barked at her, before stretching his arms over the altar again. "Arceus! Capremdum Garuganisu oru'ma'!" he and the maids chanted, as Marianette felt an unusual tingling throughout her body.

' _Please, somebody help me…'_ She thought to herself, as her father and his maids continued their chant to appease the Legendary Arceus. That would be the last thing she would think of, as the world around her faded into darkness.

 **30 years later: S.S Oceana: Trainer Registration Room**

The monitor screen flickered to life, showing a cute teenage girl of average height and weight. She had chocolate brown eyes, the right one covered by a bang of black and red hair, which reached her shoulders. She was wearing a white sleeveless shirt, with a black coat on top, as well as a black baseball cap, with a red Pokéball printed on the front. Since the monitor only showed the top half of her body, it was impossible to determine what type of pants she was wearing.

"Greetings trainer, my name is Amaria!" the lady smiled. "I'm a scout for the Aevium League. It's my duty to find tough trainers and encourage them to participate in the League."

"Uh-Huh" the person on the other end of the monitor grunted, this person being a teenage male.

"Now then, before we begin, how about a little history lesson?" Amaria smiled, causing the teenager to groan internally. "The Aevium region is famous for its wide variety of Pokémon, as well as its challenging league, which can only be compared to that of the Reborn Region. One of Aevium's other strong points is that its community is tightly knit, despite being separated over three islands, due to an incident a long time ago. And part of what made that community strong is Pokémon battling." Amaria went into detail about the history of the Aevium Region, which the teenager found mildly interesting.

"Alright, we'll need to register you into our database." Amaria noted, as she began typing on a keyboard that was on her desk. "By the way, there are 18 Gym Leaders in the region. You'll need all 18 badges if you want to participate in the League. Additionally, the Pokémon here may or may not respond to your calls, depending on what level they are, and how many badges you have."

' _How interesting…not that I'll need to worry about it.'_ The boy thought to himself.

"Now then, what gender are you?" Amaria asked. "You can choose from Male, Female, Both, Non-Binary, or Transgender."

"I'm a regular male, thank you very much." The boy replied, as Amaria typed up the info on her computer.

"Alright, now what is your name?" Amaria asked.

"It's Jonathan." The now named teenager replied. "But you can just call me John for short." Amaria then typed it up onto her computer, before pressing the enter button on her keyboard. A satisfied look on her face appeared, as a quick _*ding*_ signified that the registration went through.

"Congratulations, you're officially registered for the Aevium League!" Amaria smiled. "Once the S.S Oceana docks, meet me at the Gearen Laboratory, where you'll receive the essentials needed for you to do great things. Happy training!" Amaria signed off, closing the two-way speaker. Jonathan then placed the headphones back onto the desk, and walked up to the lady at the front counter.

"Are you done with your registration?" She asked, in a friendly yet slightly tired tone of voice.

"Obviously…" Jonathan muttered under his breath, giving her a quick nod.

"Alright then, I'll print off your Trainer's License. This should only take a few seconds." The lady called out, walking up to the printer. The machine then printed out a bright blue trainer card, much to Jonathan's displeasure.

"Here you go, Mr. Jonathan." The lady handed him the card, as he nodded in appreciation. "May I ask why you're participating in the Aevium League?"

"…Revenge." Was all Jonathan said, as he turned around and left the room, briefly confusing the lady, before another trainer went up to the counter to get their License.

Once out of the Registration Room, Jonathan walked back to his room, only to get stopped by his mother. She was a gorgeous young woman, with long pink hair, and bright green eyes. She wore a white wide-brimmed hat, and a flowing white dress. She was the famous Pokémon Idol Nancy, whose Fairy Type Pokémon dazzled the stage in Kanto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. Nancy walked up to Jonathan and hugged him tightly.

"Oh my boy's growing up before my eyes!" she smiled, squeezing him tightly.

"Urgh mom, don't squeeze me so tight!" Jonathan complained, as Nancy loosened her grip on her son.

"I'm sorry, but can you blame me? My son's finally able to participate in another League Challenge, ever since that faithful day…" she said, her voice lowering a bit at the end.

"Yes, and I need to get stronger, so I can avenge myself over what happened that day." Jonathan replied.

"There's no need to worry about revenge, you can just enjoy your time here." Nancy said, before taking him by the hand, and showing him a set of double doors. "Here's where the banquet's going to be held. Make sure to freshen up before attended."

"I will mom." Jonathan replied, resisting the urge to groan.

"I've got some things to do, so I'll see you later." Nancy replied, as she began walking down the corridor, before turning to face her son. "And please Jonathan, get out of that ridiculous outfit and try to make some friends." She called out, before she continued her walk. Jonathan then stormed to his room and closed the door.

"Make some friends? Doesn't she know what happened the last time I tried to make some friends?!" he growled at himself, before facing the mirror. Jonathan had short black hair, bright green eyes, fair skin, and was of average build. His outfit consisted of a black t-shirt and jeans, with a black trench coat over his body, black business shoes, a black fedora, and a blood red scarf. People have mocked him for looking like an 'edgelord', but he couldn't give a damn what they thought of him.

His mind then wandered to the day of his betrayal, and the former friends whom he wants revenge on. Natasha, the beautiful and intelligent young lady, who was a prodigy in Pokémon battles, and Vladimir, the friendly teenage boy, whom followed Natasha's orders willingly, due to his stupid crush on her. He began thinking of ways to make the duo suffer for his betrayal, relishing in the thought. Just then, one of his Pokéballs popped out, revealing a rather unusual and rare Pokémon.

The Pokémon was coloured black, red and yellow, and an elongated, serpentine body covered in scales and feathers, as well as a pair of white wings on its body. It has three birdlike legs, two at the back, and one at the front; each of its feet has four toes tipped with red talons, as well as a fluffy tail that resembled a storm cloud. It had two lightning bolt like horns on its head, and a magnificent moustache on its face. It was a Yatagaryu, a rare Pokémon from the Tandor region that only a few trainers have ever seen. It cried out rather sadly, as Jonathan petted its head.

"Don't blame yourself for what happened that time." He told it, a small smile on his face. "We had no idea that we were going to get betrayed." Jonathan then returned Yatagaryu to its Pokéball, before straightening up his scarf and fedora and exiting his room. A Youngster whom Jonathan saw registering alongside him acted like he got a paper cut on his hand.

"Ow, the edge!" he mocked, as he and a few other trainers chuckled at the joke.

"Whatever asshole." Jonathan retorted, as he walked off to the upstairs bar. The now agitated Youngster ran up to Jonathan and grabbed his shoulder, only for the latter to punch him in the face, breaking his nose. Jonathan stared at the now crying boy for a few seconds, before huffing to himself and resumed his walk.

 **Upstairs bar**

Jonathan got up the stairs and surveyed the spacious room, as far as the eye could see, there were people sitting down on tables, happily chatting amongst each other, while drinking their preferred beverages. In front of Jonathan was a grand piano, with a Jigglypuff on the top, humming alongside the harmonic melody being played by the piano lady. The lady was very pretty, with her long, light brown hair, and shiny green eyes. Her outfit consisted of a white tuxedo, with matching white loafers. Another notable feature was that the lady had a rather well-endowed chest, which got her some attention from some slimy perverts. Once she had finished the song, she got up and took a bow, with everyone including Jonathan applauding her.

"There, how did you like my song?" she asked, with everyone calling out praise for her, as well as the aforementioned perverts cat-calling her. "Oh you all absolutely flatter us, isn't that right Jigglypuff?"

"Jiggly!" the small pink Pokémon cried out in happiness. Just then, one of the perverts got up off his seat and swaggered over to the piano. His shirt was unbuttoned and untidy, and his pants were quite dirty.

"Hey baby…you've got a well-endowed chest, you know that?" the man slurred, his breath reeking of alcohol.

"Um…I don't know what to say about that…?" the piano lady chuckled uneasily.

"Why don't I give you a good luck squeeze?" the pervert leered, his eyes locked onto her chest.

"Can you please leave me alone?" the lady requested. "You're making me uncomfortable."

"Aw come on darlin', just a little squeeze…" the pervert begged. At this point, Jonathan had enough of the charlatan and stormed up to the man, pulling him away from the piano.

"Hey, what's your problem?!" the pervert growled. Jonathan responded by punching the man in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He then grabbed the pervert's hair and slammed his face into a wall, knocking the pervert out, and leaving a blood trail down the wall.

"Are you alright, m'lady?" Jonathan asks, tipping his fedora.

"Yes I am, thank you very much!" the piano lady smiled. "I'm Louise, and as you can see, I play the piano."

"I'm Jonathan." He replied quickly. "Do you get losers like that guy every time you play?"

"Well I wouldn't say all the time, but on rare occasions, I get men trying to grab me. I tell them that I'm not looking for a partner, but all they want is a quick fling." Louise informed him.

"I'm glad that you're alright." Jonathan told her. "If that creep, or someone else is giving you trouble, let me know."

"Alright then." Louise smiled, as she flicked through the page of her music book. "Consider this song a treat from me, sugar." With a quick wave of her fingers, Louise began playing the piano, the music soothing the quick burst of anger that the pervert had ignited in Jonathan's heart. Handing a monetary tip to Louise as a sign of appreciation, Jonathan then made his way to the bar, to order himself an apple cider. Paying for the drink, Jonathan made his way to the captain's quarters, as he was a family friend of Nancy. The young man then knocked on the door, and was told that he could come in.

Jonathan then entered the room, and sat down on the couch opposite of the Ship Captain, Augustus. Captain Augustus was a fairly old man, with a magnificent moustache on his face. He wore a White Sea Captains outfit, which was decorated with several shiny medals that were awarded to him for his long time service.

"Ah, you must be Nancy's child." Augustus sighed happily, as he got up and inspected the painting behind his desk. "I am Captain Augustus."

"I'm Jonathan." The young man replied.

"Tell me, are you enjoying your trip?" Augustus asked.

"Well I knocked out some pathetic loser, who was harassing Louise." Jonathan answered.

"The piano lady?" Augustus pressed, with Jonathan nodding in response. "I'll go talk to her about it later, so we can identify and punish the man responsible."

"That'll be appreciated." Jonathan said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Augustus then walked back to the couch he was on before, and sat down again. "Nancy told me that you wanted to be a trainer, correct?"

"Well I am a trainer already, but an incident happened in the past, that I'm not comfortable with sharing." Jonathan commented.

"I see…" Augustus mused, his hand on his chin, before he cleared his throat. "How about I explain some of the rules for the Aevium League?"

"I'd like that, thank you very much." Jonathan replied.

"Alright then. The Aevium League is far different from your usual league challenge. For one thing, the leaders have a powerful team that requires different strategies to counter." Augustus explained. "Also, there is an Elite 8, as opposed to an Elite 4."

"Elite 8?! Are you shitting me?!" Jonathan spluttered, his eyes widened in shock.

"Yes; I take it by your language that you find it rather hard to believe." Augustus deduced, as a bell chimed in his office. "Ah, we're near the Gearen Docks. The banquet's about to begin!"

"I need to hurry and meet my mother by the door. Catch you later." Jonathan called out, as he waved at Augustus and exited the captain's quarters.

 **Five minutes later**

Jonathan was waiting at the doors, when his mother walked up to him, and embraced him in a hug.

"Hey sweetie." Nancy smiled. "Did you make any friends on the cruise?"

"Well I made friends with the piano lady, Louise." Jonathan replied. "Of course, I had to beat up some pervert harassing her."

"Just once, I'd like for you to solve a conflict, without assaulting somebody." Nancy sighed. "Well no time to dawdle, we've got to get to our seat." The duo then entered the grand hall, and were amazed by how beautiful the room was. The walls were decorated with brightly coloured streamers, and all the tables were neatly presented. A waitress walked up to the pair, a list of reservations in hand.

"Oh, Lady Nancy and Jonathan?" The waitress called out. "Your table's to the upper left, second table."

"Thank you." Nancy thanked the waitress, as her and Jonathan walked to their designated table, and proceeded to sit on the chairs. As they were reading the menu, Captain Augustus walked up onto the stage and turn on the microphone.

"May I have your attention please?" He spoke into the microphone, as everyone turned to face the stage. "It is with great pleasure that I host the 48th annual Grand Finale Banquet. You know when I was young, I'd never thought that I'll be standing here before you today. It is quite an honour indeed, but I'll be saving you the trouble of listening to me ramble on about my life story."

"Phew, I'd thought that he'd ramble on for ever." Nancy whispered to her son.

"Now then, to present to you the head chef, Ramon." Augustus spoke, as he handed the microphone to a rather burly chef.

"Ya, iz very easy to do. You take spoon n' fork and devour to ya hearts content, eh." Ramon spoke in a thick French accent. "What are ze waiting for? EAT!"

"Finally…" Jonathan sighed, as he was about to eat, however a lady came running into the room, a frightened look on her face.

"TROLL! There's a troll in the dungeon!" she cried out.

"What the fuck?! You interrupted my eating time, just so you can spout out some garbage from your mouth?!" Jonathan growled at the lady. "There's no dungeon on this ship."

"Well that's because I'm the troll…" the lady replied, a sinister smirk on her face, as she took of her dress, revealing that she was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, with matching black jeans, topped off with a black cap. Her uniform had a red mark depicting an 'X', as if it were her organisation's logo. "I also planted a bomb in the dungeon. Thought you'd like to know." As the grunt got out a remote from her uniform pocket, Nancy turned to a lady sitting on the table beside her.

"Get Jonathan out of here!" Nancy whispered, as the lady nodded to her request. The grunt then pressed the button on her remote, detonating the bomb. Jonathan shielded his eyes, as the room glowed harshly, and a large _'boom'_ rocked the boat.

 **?**

"Aggh…what the fuck was that?!" Jonathan groaned, as he got up and surveyed the room around him, realising that he somehow winded up in the captains quarters. The walls had large cracks in them, the books had fallen off the shelves, and there was dust and debris everywhere. A look of panic appeared on the young man's face, as a sudden realisation dawned on him.

"My room!" he cried out, as he ran out the captain's quarters as fast as he could. However, when he left the room, he was surprised to see a blood red tentacle burst from the wooden floor of the hallway. Realising that he still had his cane sword with him, he unsheathed it and cut the tentacle in a single slash. An unearthly shriek rocked the boat, as the severed tentacle withdrew back down from where it came from. Jonathan ran out the hallway, and into the upstairs bar that he had visited earlier.

The bar was absolutely devastated, with shattered glasses and bottles everywhere. There was also half-eaten meals strewn across the places, including the walls. But what sent a chill down Jonathan's spine was an unconscious sailor, who was wrapped up by another one of those creepy tentacles. A cry for help got Jonathan out of his stupor, as he ran to the source, and realised that it was the piano lady, watching a Youngster getting, dragged down a hole by one of the tentacles.

"Louise?" Jonathan called out, as he ran up to her. "Are you alright?"

"Not really, sugar." Louise replied, her body shivering in fear.

"Did you hear the explosion from earlier?!" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah, it detonated on the bottom level of the ship." Louise said. "Your mother could still be in the banquet room."

"Thanks!" Jonathan replied, as he began running through the room, before he turned to Louise. "You wanna come along with me?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I can't. I think these tentacles can hear our movements." Louise answered. "Travelling together would only blow our cover."

"Alright then, stay safe Louise." Jonathan said, as he exited the room. He had arrived on the upper balcony, and witnessed a scene out of a horror movie. Strewn on the lower deck were several dead bodies, some of them nothing more than piles of unrecognisable gore. Amidst the slaughter were several people getting ensnared by the tentacles. Jonathan took a closer look at the scene, and reeled back in shock; one of the sailors was getting attacked by what looked like a Deoxys in its Attack Forme. Without hesitation, Jonathan left the balcony and quickly ran towards his room.

A few minutes later, he opened the door to his room, and breathed a sigh of relief, as it appears to have been barely touched by the explosion. Jonathan reached his hands under his bed, and pulled out a shoe box, filled with all his Pokémon friends that he met during his time in Tandor. Placing the box in his bag, he rummaged through one of his draws, and breathed another sign of relief, as his beloved Special edition of Gym Leader Monthly was still in mint condition.

Gym Leader Monthly was one of Jonathan's favourite magazines for one specific reason, the photo shoots. Each issue came with some sexual photo shoots of a female gym leader/Elite 4 member, from one of the various regions that are a part of the Official Pokémon League Challenge. When the magazine announced its retirement, they published 500 copies of a special edition, which contained all of the photo shoots throughout the magazines history. Jonathan had to spend a fair bit of money, and pull some strings in order to get his copy, and it was worth every dollar spent. The shoots ranged from Kanto to Sinnoh to Hoenn and even other regions such as Tandor, Reborn and Aevium. In fact, one of Jonathan's reasons for joining the Aevium league was to meet some of the women whom he saw in the magazine. The young man then remembered why he came down her to begin with.

"Aw crap, Mom!" Jonathan cried out, as he put the thick magazine in his bag alongside his Pokémon, and ran out his room, and into the banquet hall. His eyes widened in fear, as he saw a large gaping hole in the floor. All over the room was bits of flesh and bone from some unfortunate passengers, as well as bits of food strewn all over the place. To his left was a horrified Captain Augustus, as he saw a tentacle ensnare Ramon from earlier.

"Everything…everything is ruined." Augustus spoke in a petrified voice, before turning to face Jonathan. "How could this happen?"

"I…I don't know…" Jonathan began, as panic gripped his body. "Where's my mom?!"

"She's…she's still alive I think." Augustus replied, a little unsure of himself. "That large hole was created by the explosion from earlier. Your mother went down there to extinguish the flames and take out any other threats that may be down there."

"I'm going down there!" Jonathan declared. "I won't leave my mom behind."

"Nothing I say is going to convince you otherwise, so go on ahead." Augustus said, as he sighed. "There's a set of stairs that will take you down to the storage area, where the bomb was detonated. Usually the doors are locked, but I doubt there would even be fragments left, after the explosion went off."

"Alright then, stay safe." Jonathan called out, as he ran out the banquet hall, and proceeded to run through the halls, and down the stairs into the lower levels. He then entered the storage room and was relieved to see his mother safe and sound.

"MOM!" Jonathan cried out, as he embraced the woman, a few tears falling from his eyes. "I'm so glad to see you."

"And I'm glad to see you as well sweetie." Nancy replied, returning the hug. "Thank Arceus you didn't end up like some of the other passengers I saw."

"Awwww, ain't this just the sweetest reunion…" a mysterious voice called out, dripping in sickly sweet sarcasm. Nancy and Jonathan turned to a large hole in the wall, and saw a shady looking middle-aged lady. She had short purple hair, and wore black shades over her eyes. Her uniform consisted of a grey short-sleeved dress, and a pair of knee high red boots.

"I assume you're to blame for all that's happened here…" Nancy deduced.

"Irrelevant!" the mysterious woman barked, as a pair of Deoxys came out from the hole in the wall and stood side-by-side the woman. "What matters is your apprehension."

"Did you blow up the entire ship, just to kidnap my mom?!" Jonathan balked.

"Correct, though I wasn't talking to you." the purple haired lady retorted.

"Well then what was the point of attacking everyone then?! Why couldn't you have just gone after me?!" Nancy demanded answers, enraged by the callous actions of the person standing in front of her.

"Simple, we didn't want any witnesses." The lady answered. "Though truth be told, our original plan was to take you during the break of night, but we didn't want to risk running into…her. So we tried take out two birds with one stone, and from the look of things, it's worked."

' _She paused when talking about her; who is she referring to when she says her?'_ Jonathan thought to himself.

"I've heard enough from you! Sylveon, use Moonblast!" Nancy called out, as her Sylveon began charging up lunar energy.

"Pathetic. Deoxys, use Flash Cannon." The purple haired lady ordered, as the Deoxys on her left charged up a silver ball of energy, before launching it at the Sylveon. The Sylveon cried out in pain as it was sent flying into a wall, knocked out from the attack.

"No, Sylveon!" Nancy cried out, as she ran to her fainted Pokémon to check if it was alright. "Return darling…" she returned her Pokémon, before walking up to the antagonistic woman.

"I understand, I'll go with you…" Nancy accepted her fate, as she turned to face Jonathan, a look of defeat on her face. "Don't worry about me, just go."

"But mom, I can't leave you behind!" Jonathan cried out, his face struck with fear and sadness.

"Believe in me. Believe in yourself!" Nancy called out, as a pair of tentacles ensnared her.

"MOM!" Jonathan cried out, as he glared at the purple haired woman. "Let my mom go now!"

"Awww…I'd be crying if I had a properly functioned non-physical heart…" the lady crooned, a sneer on her face. "But I think it's time to deal with you…"

"Jonathan! Don't worry about me, just go! Keep running and don't look back!" Nancy shouted at the top of her lungs. With tears in his eyes, Jonathan nodded and ran as fast as he could. Once he got up the stairs, he was confronted by a very angry Deoxys. Jonathan's eyes noticed a scar on one of its tentacle, realising that this was the Deoxys whom he attacked earlier. The Deoxys moved closer and closer, eager to seek retribution on the trainer whom attacked him.

"Look out below!" a familiar voice call out, as both Jonathan and the Deoxys looked at the ceiling. A few seconds later, a grand piano fell down the hole, crushing the Deoxys. The beast shrieked in pain for a few seconds, before everything went silent, as what Jonathan presumed to be blood pooled from under the piano. Jonathan looked up the hole and saw Louise looking down at him.

"The sound of a broken piano. I dedicate this song to you…" Louise said, as she looked up from the hole and noticed several Deoxys converging on her. "Get out of here sugar, because my time's up…"

All Jonathan heard was a cry of fear, as the Deoxys surrounded and captured Louise. He then walked down the hall, feeling miserable that he failed at saving Captain Augustus, failed at saving Louise, and failed at saving his very own mother. He then walked onto the lower deck, and noticed a second person, this time a man wearing a dark grey shirt and pants, as well as a grey trench coat. At the same time, the purple haired lady from earlier walked up from behind Jonathan, as three more Deoxys appeared and surrounded Jonathan.

"Surrounded are we?" the lady sneered, as the Deoxys, moved closer and closer. "Now be a good boy and surrender to us. There's no use fighting back."

"Why don't you go fuck yourself?!" Jonathan snarled, his fists clenched in rage.

"Oh my, defiant to the end?" the sinister man jeered. "Deoxys, destroy this punk!" The Deoxys converged even closer to Jonathan, when the shrill cry of a Talonflame startled them.

"What was that?!" the purple haired lady cried out, as the man looked all over the sky to see where the source came from.

"Now Talonflame, use Flare Blitz!" a woman cried out, as the Talonflame cloaked itself in fire and charged at the Deoxys, as the lady grabbed onto Jonathan's arm. The Talonflame defeated the Deoxys, as the lady hoisted Jonathan up and flew off to safety. The evil man and woman looked on from the boat, their faces a mixture of rage and confusion.

"Thanks for saving me." Jonathan thanked the lady. "But why'd you save me?"

"I'll explain when we get to land." The lady replied, as the duo flew to the Gearen Docks.

 **Quite a way to start things off, eh? Get ready to buckle up, because things are only going to get more intense later on.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Previously, Jonathan was relaxing on a cruise to the Aevium Region, in order to participate in the Aevium League. However, it was attacked by a mysterious organisation, whom kidnapped his mother Nancy. Luckily Jonathan was rescued in the nick of time by a kind lady riding on a Talonflame.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, it is the property of its creator, SuperJanBro.**

Chapter 1:

 **Gearen Docks**

The Talonflame carrying both Jonathan and its trainer landed safely on the dock. The young man immediately hopped off the large Pokémon and began kissing the cool brick pier, ecstatic that he's safe. He then got up and faced the woman whom he owes his life to.

"Thank you so much!" he replied, as the lady got off and thanked her Talonflame.

"No worries." She replied, before turning to face him. "I'm Tesla, one of the Elite 8 of the Aevium region." She introduced herself, flicking her hand through her luscious red hair. "And you must be Nancy's son, Jonathan."

"Y-yeah I am." He replied, still a little shaken from what happened. "How do you know my name? Furthermore, why'd you rescue me?"

"I'm a close friend of Nancy." Tesla replied. "And as for your rescue, well I owed her a favour, so she decided to cash it in at that moment." Jonathan's face became gloomy at the mention of his mom, his failure to rescue her still resonating with him.

"Who…who were those people that caused the bomb to detonate?" he asked.

"Team Xen. They're a criminal organisation that's been causing trouble throughout the Aevium Region." Tesla explained. "However, they haven't done anything of this magnitude until now, leading me to believe that they're finally getting their plan into motion."

"So what do we do now?" Jonathan asked.

"Well you'll need to go to the Gearen Lab in order to get your Pokémon." Tesla told him. "I'll stay here, in case I find anymore survivors." She said, as she hopped onto her Talonflame. "I'll see you Jonathan." And with that, she flew off into the night. Jonathan watched her fly for a few seconds, before making his way to Gearen City.

"Man, this bites! All I have left is the clothes on my back, my trusted Pokémon, my cane sword, and my special edition of Gym Leader Monthly." He growled under his breath. "I bet none of this shit ever happens to Vladimir and Natasha." He continued, his voice dripping with venom upon mentioning his former friends. Just then, he was stopped by some random street punk.

"Hand over the bag, twerp!" he demanded, raising a baseball bat.

"Go fuck yourself!" Jonathan snorted, flipping off the thug. With a roar of fury, the thug charged at the young man, his bat raised in the air. Jonathan dodged the swing and punched the thug in the gut, causing him to gasp for air and fall to the ground. With a look of contempt on his face, Jonathan curb-stomped the thug, knocking him out. Eventually, Jonathan made it to the Oceana Pier Gate, and walked up to the Aevium Immigration desk.

"Hello there young man!" the clerk behind the desk smiled, showing off her shiny white teeth. "Welcome to Aevium Immigration. Do you have your passport?" Jonathan rummaged through his bag, when a sudden realisation dawned on him; he'd asked him mom to keep his passport safe, and now she's in the hands of those Team Xen fuckheads.

"Shit, shit, shit!" he whispered harshly under his breath, zipping up his bag and putting it over his shoulder. "I don't have my passport with me." He informed the lady behind the desk.

"No passport? Oh this is quite a problem indeed~…" the clerk replied, as she typed up something on the keyboard. "Do you have a Trainer Card at least? Those can double for passports." A wave of relived coursed through Jonathan's body, he can enter this city after all. He rummaged one of the pockets on his trench coat and showed it to the lady.

"Excellent! Follow me to the verification desk." The lady smiled, as she walked over to another desk, with Jonathan in tow. Once they arrived at the desk, the lady got out a scanner and used it to scan the trainer card. A small _'ding'_ came out of the machine, indicating that the card was officially verified.

"Congratulations. You can now explore the Aevium region, without any restrictions." The lady replied, handing Jonathan his Trainer's License. "Good luck on your journey!" Jonathan nodded in appreciation, as he went through the open gate, and stepped into Gearen City.

To say Gearen City was large would be an understatement, it was absolutely massive. There were tall buildings as far as the eye can see, with various billboards advertising different goods and services. Jonathan looked at the ground and saw that it was made out of solid cobblestone, and what he interpreted as purple water flowing through see-through tubes. All around him were beginning trainers squaring off against each other, their Pokémon engaged in battle.

"Bah, I can take out these weakling with ease." He scoffed to himself, as he walked down a fairly wide path, that lead straight to a tall building, made out of purple bricks. The windows were also tinted lime green for some reason. Jonathan glanced at the sign in front of the building, stating that it was the Gearen Laboratory. With a simple shrug, he entered the building.

When he entered the building, he noticed that it was vastly different inside, than it was outside. For starters, the floor was a baby blue, instead of the purple that he saw outside the laboratory. There were also two fountains standing parallel of each other, adding a touch of prestige to the laboratory. There were dozens of tables and chairs for trainers to rest and relax, while reading one of the books from the various bookshelves, or eating a simple meal. Jonathan walked up to the front desk, and waited in line for his turn. After around 5 minutes of waiting, he walked up to the desk, as the clerk took her seat.

"Hi there, my name's Jonathan, and I'm waiting for Amaria. I need to explain something to her." He introduced himself.

"Amaria's busy with another trainer at the moment. If you could wait for her, then I'll let her know that you're here." The clerk replied, as she handed Jonathan a small note. Jonathan then made his way to a seat right near a wall, and opened his bag to retrieve his Gym Leader Monthly magazine. The young man then flicked through it, reaching the Reborn chapter and began deciding on whose shoots to look at.

' _Saphira, Amaria, Serra, Titania. There's so many cuties to choose from…'_ Jonathan thought to himself, as he pondered on which shoot to look at. Eventually he decided on viewing the Amaria-Titania shoot, that's exclusive to the special edition. Flicking through the magazine, he arrived at the shoot and began reading at his own leisure. _'Hey, Amaria and Titania sure look cute together. I wonder if they're in a relationship…'_ he thought to himself. However, some snot-nosed Youngster noticed Jonathan and walked up to him.

"Hey, is that the special edition of Gym Leader Monthly?" the Youngster asked, a sneer on his face.

"Yeah…" Jonathan replied, not looking up from his magazine. "Why'd you ask?"

"Hand it over to me, and I won't beat you up to a pulp!" the Youngster threatened, clenching his fists. Jonathan signed, before putting his bookmark in the magazine, and placing it on the chair, before decking the young boy in the face.

"How about you go fuck yourself?!" Jonathan barked, as the Youngster got up and cried to his mother. The young man huffed to himself, before he picked up his precious magazine and resumed reading it. A minute later, a very angry middle-aged lady stormed up to the young man, with her son snivelling into her dress.

"Are you the ruffian who assaulted my boy?!" she demanded, pointing a finger at Jonathan.

"Yeah, but he started it." Jonathan grunted, his eyes focused on the magazine.

"My boy would never start fights with street punks like you!" the mother insisted that her son was a perfect little angel.

"Your boy, threated to punch me, if I didn't hand over my copy of the special edition of Gym Leader Monthly." Jonathan commented.

"Is that the rubbish, where the gym leaders pose in the nude?" the woman asked.

"Yes, and it is far from rubbish." Jonathan answered her question.

"People like you these days have no respect for women, viewing them as pin up models, due to garbage like that!" the mother scoffed.

"Hey, what I do in my spare time is none of your business! So scram, unless you want your son to lose a few teeth." Jonathan growled.

"You—this isn't over!" the woman huffed, as she stormed off with her son in tow.

"Fuckin cranky-ass bitch…" Jonathan muttered under his breath, as he continued to read his magazine. A minute later, Amaria had walked out of her lab, with a rookie trainer in tow. She had handed him a Pokédex, and a set of Pokéballs, as she registered the trainer for the Aevium League. Once that was done, she wished the trainer luck in their endeavour, as the receptionist from earlier notified Amaria of Jonathan. The Aevium scout then spotted the young man, and walked up to him, a big smile on her face.

"Hey there, it's good to finally meet you face to face." Amaria greeted the trainer.

"Same here." Jonathan replied, as he put his magazine back into his bag. As the duo were walking up to the counter, they began talking to each other.

"What took you so long? I dealt with 5 newbie trainers while waiting for you." Amaria asked, as Jonathan chuckled at the question.

"Well where do I begin? Firstly, the cruise ship I was on was attacked by those Team Xen assholes. Then said assholes kidnapped my mother, and sent a bunch of Deoxys to attack me. Then when things were finally looking up following Tesla's rescue of me, I get harassed by two jackasses, the latter of which had the gall to get his mom to scold me." Jonathan ranted. 'So yeah, this trip is turning out really great so far."

"Really?!" Amaria gasped. "The S.S Oceana has been attacked?!"

"Yeah, Tesla's checking it out to see if there are any more survivors." Jonathan explained.

"I'll get in contact with her, once I'm done with you." Amaria stated. "In the meantime, why don't you pick out your starter Pokémon?"

"That's the thing, I already have my Pokémon with me." Jonathan explained.

"Oh really? From where did you get them?" Amaria inquired.

"I got them during my time in the Tandor region." Jonathan answered.

"The Tandor region?!" Amaria gasped, surprised at what she had just heard. "I have to talk to Professor Jenner about this."

"Professor Jenner?" Jonathan inquired, a curious look on his face.

"He's the professor of this region, and quite the intelligent man." Amaria explained. "Why don't we go meet him, so we can explain your situation to him?"

"Alright then." Jonathan replied. The duo arrived at the door behind the counter, which leads to Professor Jenner's office. As Jonathan walked up to the door, he accidentally bumped into a beautiful blonde girl, around his age.

"Ah, my apologies." He said, as he helped her get up off the floor.

"I'm sorry about that, now if you'll excuse me." The girl replied, as she proceeded to walk briskly to the front door. Jonathan stared at the retreating figure, her angelic voice still ringing in his ears.

"Uhh, Earth to Jonathan. You there?" Amaria called out to the spaced out youth, as he shook his head and followed the Aevium Scout through the door, where they then proceeded to climb up a set of stairs and enter Jenner's office.

The room was extraordinarily spacious, with several potted plants decorating the room, breathing some life into the place. There was several high tech machines that gathered data on things that affect Pokémon populations, such as weather, over catching, introduction of foreign species, and many more. Additionally, there was also several bookcases filled with important research notes and books written by Pokémon Professors from other regions. In the back of the room was a blonde man wearing a professor's uniform, facing a large monitor, which showed the silhouette of what Jonathan assumed to be a woman. It appears that the two were speaking to each other, but Jonathan wasn't able to listen to the whole conversation.

"…And make sure she's there…" the woman asked in a tone that sounded like she was ordering the man.

"…I will, don't worry about it…" the man replied in a casual tone, as the monitor was then switched off.

"Did I interrupt anything?" Amaria asked, as Jonathan followed closely beside her.

"Ah no, no! I was just finishing off something." The man replied, a bit flustered. Jonathan found it somewhat odd, but didn't pay any heed to it.

"Rightttttttttt. Anyway, Jonathan. This is Professor Jennerson. Aka. Professor Jenner. Jenner, this is Jonathan. He's a new trainer, with an interesting proposal." Amaria introduced the two men to each other.

"Nice to meet you." Jonathan replied bluntly, shaking his hand with Professor Jenner's.

"And it's nice to meet you as well." Jenner shook Jonathan's hand. "Now then, what is this proposal you're suggesting."

"Well you know how you've been wanting more data in regards to Tandor's native Pokémon? Guess what this guy has…" Amaria explained, a sly smile on her face.

"Really? And I assume you would want to use your Pokémon, rather than pick a starter." Jenner deduced.

"Correct." Jonathan nodded.

"How fascinating…perhaps we can come to an agreement." Jenner mused to the young man, as he opened his desk drawer and rummaged through it for a few seconds. He then got out what appeared to be a blue SD card, and inserted it into a Pokédex, before handing it to Jonathan.

"This chip will gather data on your Pokémon, regarding their diet, habitat, evolution, and even gender differences. I feel that this is a fair trade off for allowing you to use your Tandor Pokémon." Jenner explained, handing the young man the Pokédex.

"Thanks." Jonathan replied, as he placed the Pokédex into his pocket.

"Now that we've gotten it sorted out, why don't we have a 1-on-1 battle?" Amaria suggested. "I been wanting to see how the Pokémon in Tandor fight."

"Alright then, prepare to get creamed!" Jonathan smirked, as he and Amaria walked into an elevator, which lead to duo to a room where newbie trainers could pick their starters. The room was quite pretty to look at, with three different biomes in the room, for the Grass, Fire and Water starters to live in. The Grass Pokémon got a lush forest, filled with various types of vegetation. The Water Pokémon got a large pond with a bridge spanning its length. And the Fire Pokémon got a craggy cliff, with a pool filled with artificial magma that was nowhere near as hot as regular magma. Beside the elevator entrance was some sort of weird machine that looked like a rainbow cylinder.

"What is that?" Jonathan pondered.

"It's a Pokémon Randomiser." Amaria told him. "If a trainer can't decide on what Pokémon to choose, then they can turn the knob and get a random starter Pokémon. However there are rumours that extremely lucky trainers have pulled exceptionally rare Pokémon from the randomiser."

"Huh, now that's fairly interesting…" Jonathan said to himself, as the duo then arrived at a miniature battlefield.

"This arena was made for Melia's exclusive use, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Amaria said out loud, before she unclipped her Pokéball from her belt and held it in her hand. She then threw it onto the field, as a powerful Delphox materialised out of the Pokéball.

"A Delphox? I guess I'll call out my most trusted comrade." Jonathan called out, as he summoned his trusty Yatagaryu. The draconic Pokémon roared to the sky, its body pumped for battle, as dark storm clouds appeared in the room. "I'll start things off with a Thunder!" he declared, as sparks emanated from Yatagaryu's horns, before the Stormbringer Pokémon sent the spark up into the clouds. A few seconds later, a wicked thunderbolt struck down from the clouds. Delphox narrowly avoided the attack, but a tree beside the arena was struck by the bolt, reducing it to ash.

"Wow!" Amaria gushed. "Now that is what I call a Thunder!"

"Heh, that's the power of Tandor's Pokémon." Jonathan shrugged his shoulders.

"Now it's time for my counterattack. Delphox, use Shadow Ball!" Amaria called out. The fox Pokémon conjured a shadowy blob of energy using its trusty stick, before flinging it at the Yatagaryu.

"Use Dragon Pulse to block the attack!" Jonathan responded, as his trusted comrade fired a beam of pure energy from its mouth, colliding with the Shadow Ball, creating a massive explosion that rocked the arena. However both Pokémon were still standing, eager to continue the battle.

"Your Delphox is pretty strong. Most Pokémon would have been knocked out by now." Jonathan complimented.

"Thanks, but you haven't seen anything yet." Amaria smirked. "Use Dazzling Gleam!" The Delphox conjured a ball of potent fae energy, before lifting it up in the air and causing it to explode, sending the energy all over the arena. Yatagaryu cried out in pain, as the fae energy struck the draconic Pokémon.

"Delphox can learn Dazzling Gleam?!" Jonathan called out in shock, as his Pokémon managed to get up off the ground.

"Even veteran trainers learn something new every day." Amaria chuckled. "Hey Delphox, why don't we do that again?" Delphox chirped in response and began charging up another Dazzling Gleam.

"Not this time! Yatagaryu, use Dark Pulse!" Jonathan called out. Yatagaryu nodded and charged up a ball of dark energy in its mouth, before firing it at the Delphox. The fox Pokémon cried out in pain, as its body was sent a few feet back by the powerful attack.

"Ahh…" Amaria gasped in shock, as Delphox struggled to get up. "Yatagaryu can learn Dark Pulse?"

"Didn't you say that veteran trainers can learn new things?" Jonathan replied, a smirk on his face.

"Heh, guess I did." Amaria smiled, before brushing her hair aside. "Looks like it's time to finish this, Delphox use Mystical Fire!" Her Delphox then began swinging it's stick in a circle, creating several rings of fire, before releasing a stream of fire from it's mouth.

"If that's how you want to play, then that's how we're gonna play. Use Dragon Pulse!" Jonathan ordered. Yatagaryu proceeded to fire a beam of pure energy for the second time, as both attacks collided with each other. Both Pokémon tried to overpower the other, but in the end Yatagaryu managed to overpower Delphox, as the Dragon Pulse send the fox Pokémon flying a few feet, before it collided with the ground.

"Oh no, Delphox!" Amaria cried out, as she ran over to her fainted Pokémon. "You tried your best, take a nice rest." Amaria told her Delphox, as she returned it to it's Pokéball, before a grin appeared on her face.

"You're a natural when it comes to battling!" Amaria praised Jonathan's battling skills. "I mean talk about an explosive fight."

"Well that's the sort of power you can expect from me and my trusted comrades." Jonathan replied, as he gently petted Yatagaryu for a bit, before returning it to its Pokéball." At that moment, Professor Jenner exited from the elevator and walked up to the duo.

"Did I miss anything?" the professor asked.

"Well you missed a wicked 1-on-1 battle, but other than that, nothing." Amaria replied.

"Don't worry sir, the chip you gave me should contain the data from that battle." Jonathan replied. "And I'm confident that it'll gather more data than you could ever ask for."

"Excellent! This should be beneficial for not only Gearen Laboratory, but the whole of Aevium." Professor Jenner smiled, as Amaria's Pokégear began ringing all of a sudden.

"Ah, it looks like duty calls. Catch you later!" Amaria said, as she walked up to the elevator and entered it. Both Professor Jenner and Jonathan watched the elevator go up, before the former turned to face the latter.

"Now that we're alone, I'd like to ask you a second favour…" Jenner confided. "It's about my daughter Melia—"He was suddenly interrupted by the voice of a teenage male, exited out of the elevator.

"Professor!" the voice called out.

"Why…?" Jenner whined to himself, as the boy walked up to the duo. The teenage male was fairly tall, and had short black hair as well as blue eyes. His outfit consisted of a grey overcoat, with a white undershirt and black jeans. He also wore black sneakers, a short black scarf and black fingerless gloves.

"I've finished with my assignment in Amethyst cave, Professor!" the male informed Jenner.

"What were the results of your assignment Ren?" Jenner inquired.

"Well I didn't find much, on account of the Pokémon there being stronger than my own Pokémon." Ren answered with a sheepish grin on his face, as Jenner facepalmed himself, before letting out a sigh.

"Don't worry about it…" he replied, before he remembered something. "By the way Ren, this is Jonathan. Jonathan, this is my assistant Ren." He introduced the two younger men to each other.

"Yo!" Ren called out, giving a 'thumbs up' gesture to Jonathan, causing the latter to groan inside.

"Hello…" he replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"As you can see, Jonathan is providing me with useful data on Tandor's wide variety of Pokémon. So in a way, you're both my assistants." Jenner informed Ren.

"Really? That's totally cool!" Ren replied, before he faced Jonathan. "Once I've healed up my Pokémon, we should have a battle sometime."

"I have no problem with that." Jonathan told the young man, before crossing his arms. "Just don't expect an easy fight." Ren then went back into the elevator in order to go heal his Pokémon, leaving Jenner and Jonathan alone again.

"Now that we won't have any more interruptions, I would like to ask you for a second favour." Jenner requested. "My daughter Melia is on an expedition to Route 1, and I would like for you to check up on her for me. There's a train that can take you to Route 1, which will lead you to Goldenwood Forest."

"I see…" Jonathan replied. "In that case, I have no problem with your request."

"Wonderful!" Jenner thanked the young man. "I'll give you something that's sure to help you out on your journey." Jenner then handed a CyberNav to the young man, whom nodded gratefully. "That CyberNav is a useful tool. Not only does it have an inbuilt map, but you can listen to a wide variety of music."

"Heh, this should come in handy." Jonathan mused to himself.

"Now I'll need you to leave the arena, as I need to do some private research in here." Jenner informed the young man. Jonathan then proceeded to walk back into the elevator, and enter it. As the elevator went up, Professor Jenner watched it, an unusual smile on his face.

 **I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't as long as the first one, but Chapter three is where the story really begins.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Previously, Jonathan was rescued from Team Xen's grasp by Tesla of the Aevium Elite 8. He then successfully registered for the Aevium League, and was given a request by the regions local professor, Jenner.**

 **Thank you for your reviews everyone.**

 **Shadestrider: We'll make sure that Jonathan will not become a Marty Stu.**

 **One more thing, I know that Amaria didn't have a Delphox when you first fought here, but I didn't want the battle to be an absolute cakewalk.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, it is the property of its creator, SuperJanBro.**

Chapter 2:

 **Outside Gearen Laboratory**

Jonathan walked outside the building, and breathed in the fresh air. Today was a really good day to begin his journey in the Aevium Region, and what better way to begin the day then finding a strong trainer to fight. Unfortunately a group of thugs had ambushed the young man, with a familiar face sneering at Jonathan.

"Well, well, well. If it ain't the little upstart who decided to deck me back then…" the gang leader sneered.

"Considering that you tried to knock me out with a baseball bat, and threated to take my bag from me, you kinda had it coming…" Jonathan replied.

"I couldn't give a damn about your bag, I just want a rematch." The thug snorted.

"Alright then…" Jonathan replied, as he removed his bag off his back. "Come at me." However the young man was soon ganged up on by the thug's cronies, as they proceeded to pummel him to the ground.

"Ah…the sweet sound of revenge." The gang leader smiled, as he listened to Jonathan's groans of pain. After a couple of minutes, the gang members ceased the assault and fled the scene. Jonathan struggled to get up when Amaria ran out of the building and helped him up.

"What happened here?!" she asked him.

"Urgh…I got set upon by some assholes." Jonathan winced in pain.

"I'll get you to an infirmary right away!" Amaria told him, picking up his bag and helping him inside. A few minutes later, the duo arrived at the lab infirmary, as Jonathan sat down on the bed. The nurse then entered the room and began to check the young man for any external injuries.

"Oh my…" the nurse cried out in shock. "What happened to you?"

"Essentially, I encountered this asshole who threatened me with a bat. I knocked him down and went on with my business. After I got registered for the Aevium League, I encountered the same asshole again, only this time he brought his cronies along. I'm pretty sure you can deduce what happened after that." Jonathan recalled, as he rubbed his arm.

"Well from what I can see, you've got several scrapes and bruises all over you, but you don't seem to have any broken bones." The nurse informed him. "I think you should be fine. Just don't get into any more fights."

"Thank you for your time miss." Jonathan bowed, as he left the infirmary, with Amaria following in tow. As he got out the door again, Amaria called out to him.

"Remember what the nurse said, don't get into any more fights." Amaria told him.

"I will, catch you later." Jonathan waved at Amaria, as the Reborn scout went back into the building to resume her duties. Jonathan then sighed to himself, just when things were starting to look up for him, he gets knocked down to the ground. His mind then wandered off to a question that has been plaguing him for a while now. Just who is this Melia, Professor Jenner talked about? Could it be that blonde girl that he bumped into earlier? Jonathan shook the thought out of his head and began exploring the vast city of Gearen.

As he looked around the city, Jonathan saw a lot of various, and quite intriguing sights. For one thing, there were a lot of trainers out battling each other, both sides having well trained Pokémon, whom followed their trainer's orders to a 'T'. Jonathan's mind then recalled something that Captain Augustus said on the ship, before everything went downhill. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his Trainers License, flipping it over and noticing that on the back were what appeared to be some numbers, in the sockets where one would place their gym badges in.

' _Huh…is this what he meant when he mentioned level caps?'_ Jonathan thought to himself, pocketing the card before resuming his journey. A few minutes later, he soon stumbled upon a tall building, with a billboard advertising some sort of Help Center. _'Help Center? I wonder what it's about.'_ The young man then entered the building to find out for himself.

The Help Center was quite the fascinating place indeed; there were trainers as far as the eye could see, reading one of several pin boards, before removing a sheet of paper and presenting it to one of the clerks at the desk. One of the workers noticed the curious look on Jonathan's face and walked up to him.

"Good day sir, how can I help you?" she asked in a friendly tone.

"I haven't been here before, so I figured I'd check it out." The young man replied.

"This is the Help Center, a place where trainers can post requests for help on any of the bulletins by the back wall. A trainer can accept any request for help, and once they complete the request, they'll receive a fabulous reward." The worker explained.

"I see, I'll check them out when I get some spare time." Jonathan said, brushing a bit of dirt off his trench coat.

"Ah, you're already doing a request for someone else? Good luck mister!" the worker flashed him a smile, as she left to go help another trainer. Tipping his fedora at her, Jonathan then exited the building, and continued to walk east. As the young man continued eastwards, he noticed that the buildings were a lot less pristine than the buildings to the west. There were cracks in the ground, and some bits of debris, but it wasn't like he stepped into a disaster zone or anything. What he did see however, was the unmistakable sight of poverty. All around him, he saw the sleeping bodies of several homeless people, wrapped up in tattered blankets and huddled around a small fire inside a barrel. Jonathan mulled on giving them some money, only to remember that he left his wallet on the boat. Sighing to himself, he continued his merry way, in the quest to find Melia.

The young man then walked up a set of stairs and was about to head north, when the faint sound of music piqued his interest. Following the noise, he went west for a few minutes, the music growing louder the closer he got to the source. After a few minutes, he stopped at a humble two-storey house, with the music blaring quite loudly. It then dawned on the young man; this music track happened to be Roxie's number one hit, DOGARS! Jonathan didn't mind the song to be honest, considering how Roxie is one of very few modern day musicians that didn't rely on auto tune. The music was soon drowned out by the sounds of a mother and her teenage daughter arguing.

"Veronica, turn that music down this instant!" the mother demanded.

"But mum, the beat's about to drop!" the person he assumed was Veronica argued.

"I've had enough of your insolent bantering and noise pollution! The neighbours are furious, and the police have been called on us three times this week!" the mother barked out loud.

"Fuck the police! I can do whatever I damn want!" Veronica retorted. At this stage, the mother was furious and stormed up the stairs. She then turned off the stereo and ejected the disc, placing it back in its case.

"What are you doing?!" Veronica called out.

"I'm confiscating your cd, I have had enough of this." The mother told her.

"NNNNOOOO!" Veronica screamed, running up to her mother in an attempt to retrieve her disc. The mother responded by delivering a powerful backhand to her daughter, sending her flying back to the point where her body broke the window, and was sent flying out. Jonathan had barely any time to start running when Veronica crashed landed on the young man. Groaning in pain from a combination of his old and new injuries, Jonathan gently got Veronica off his body, before the young man proceeded to get up off the ground.

"Uhhh, are you alright?" he asked her.

"No…I've been wounded…that awful old wretch has gone too far this time…" Veronica groaned in pain, struggling to get up, before giving up shortly after. "Listen bro, can I ask you for a final request?"

"Alright…" Jonathan said uneasily.

"I wish to taste the succulent flesh of a Pecha Berry one last time…please." Veronica requested. Jonathan rummaged through his bag for the berry pouch that he got during his trip in Sinnoh. The young man always makes sure he has a sufficient amount of berries, in the event that he runs out of medicinal items. He managed to find a Pecha Berry and crotched down to Veronica's level, placing it in the palm of his hand and offering it to her.

"Y-You got me a Pecha Berry?" Veronica said, as she took the berry in her hand. "Thank you…" Within an instant, she ate the small fruit, her face smiling in pleasure, as she tasted the berries' succulent juices.

"So how are you feeling now?" Jonathan asked.

"Stellar…bro…stellar." Veronica replied. "But this is the end. I can see the bridge. The light. The red carpet with Joan Rivers waiting to interview me." At this point, Jonathan had no idea what was going on any more.

"Please tell my sister, I love her…" Veronica replied weakly, before her eyes closed, and she ceased breathing. Jonathan was now shocked, shocked to the point where all he could do is laugh. A part of him resented the fact that he was laughing at someone's death, but it was all his mind could do.

"BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the young man chuckled. "That's a ten out of ten performance right there! You could be in the movies." He laughed harder, to the point where his stomach began cramping up. Jonathan was so busy laughing, that he failed to notice Veronica slowly rising from the ground, the young man's back towards her. Slowly, she crept up on the cackling young man, before she got up to him and tapped his shoulder with her hand. Jonathan ceased to laugh, before he slowly turned around, and saw Veronica face to face.

"Boo…" she called out quietly.

"AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!" Jonathan cried out in fear, jumping back a few feet and landing on his backside. Veronica started to chuckle madly at her own joke, to the point where she started to get stomach cramps as well.

"Oh my, you really should have seen the look on your face." Veronica said, wiping a few tears from her eyes, as the young man got up from the ground.

"Ah…you nearly gave me a heart attack…" Jonathan winced, brushing the dirt off his clothes.

"The name's Venam." Veronica introduced herself. "You're probably thinking that my name's Veronica, due to my Mom, but its Venam. Call me Veronica, and no amount of berries would ever save you from death!"

"Ok then, Venam." Jonathan replied, not wanting to anger someone who could survive such a fall. The young man then took a closer look at the teenage girl. Venam was a cute girl with bright purple eyes, and matching purple hair that reached her back. Her outfit consisted of a sleeveless black shirt, and a white skirt. She also wore black loafers, as well as black and purple striped socks that reached the bottom of her knees.

"So it seems that I've been kicked out again…" Venam spoke quietly to herself.

"Again?!" Jonathan inquired, a little shocked at what he heard.

"Yeah, this sort of thing happens weekly. I'd play music too loudly, and end up getting kicked out. Then I pretend to play dead, so some sap can buy food for me." Veronica explained. "I guess you were the poor sap this time…"

"Yeah, I was…" Jonathan replied, a frown on his face.

"All that aside, you're a pretty cool dude. Why don't you hang out with me and my friends?" Venam offered. "It'll be fun."

"I would, but I promised Professor Jenner that I'd check up on Melia in Goldenwood Forest." Jonathan knocked back Venam's offer.

"No need to worry, Melia's not in Goldenwood Forest. The train has been down for maintenance all day." Venam informed the young man.

"Well in that case, I see no problem with hanging out with you for a bit." Jonathan replied. "It'll be a little bit of sightseeing."

"Yay!" Venam jumped for joy. "I'll be waiting there for you. And don't you dare fail to show up. Because I know what you look like, and I will find you." She stared at him ominously, before flashing him a smile and merrily skipping her way there.

"This place is interesting, I'll give it that…" Jonathan mused to himself, as he shrugged his shoulders and walked in the same direction as Venam.

 **15 minutes later**

Jonathan had just arrived at what appeared to be a large factory, when he saw a familiar face lying down on the ground, as well as who he thought was Ren standing over her.

"Urgh…that old wretch had done it again…I've been fatally wounded…" Venam grimaced in pain, though Jonathan knew that she's faking it. He was tempted to tell Ren about his experience, but since he couldn't care less about Ren if he tried, Jonathan stayed silent.

"All I ask for before I die…is a single Oran Berry. I wish to taste the succulent flesh of an Oran Berry one last time…" Venam gasped, coughing to make her act look genuine,

"Cut the crap Venam, I'm not falling for it again." Ren retorted, crossing his arms.

"Please…one last time…" Venam continued.

"Honestly, just get up, _Veronica_ …" Ren sighed, adding emphasis to her real name. In what could be described as a fit of rage, Venam bolted up from the ground and decked Ren in the face, breaking the young man's nose.

' _Lesson of the day; never call this chick Veronica…'_ Jonathan thought to himself, while Ren wiped the blood off his face.

"I only wanted you to open the door, Venam!" Ren snapped, an agitated look on his face.

"You're awful Ren! Not only did you call me by the name I didn't want you to call me, you ignored a poor lil' girl's dying wish." Venam complained.

"You're a girl? I thought you were a Primeape." Ren joked around, only for Jonathan to lightly slug him in the shoulder. "Ow! What was that for?!" he turned to face Jonathan.

"Dude, I know she tricked you, but calling her ugly? That's not cool!" Jonathan replied.

"Thank you Jonathan~" Venam smiled, as the young man tipped his fedora in response. "Now then, time for the main event!" she smiled, as she took a key out of her pocket and opened the factory door and entered the building.

"So I assume you know about the train to Goldenwood Forest being offline." Jonathan said to Ren.

"Yeah, which is why Melia's here. She's trying to find the backup generator located in the sewers. Once the switch is flipped, she's all good." the professor's assistant replied, before he entered the building. The room was fairly empty, with the only notable thing being a monitor attached to the wall, which had the words 'Access Granted' flashing brightly. In the back of the room was a set of stairs that Jonathan assumed led to the sewers. Sighing to himself, Jonathan made his way down the stairs and into the sewers.

The sewers were exactly how Jonathan expected them to be; wet floors covered in debris and rubbish, and a hideous smell permeating the area. It smelt like a combination of rotten food, human excrement, and even a dead body, because why the hell not? Covering his mouth and nose with his scarf, Jonathan made his way to Ren, who was retching from the smell.

"Ugh, welcome to the Abandoned Sewers…" Ren weakly called out. "These sewers have been abandoned, ever since some girl named Saki invented a machine to better manage the city's waste. Of course, that doesn't make this place smell any nicer…"

"Let's just go to the power room, I don't want to stay here any longer than necessary." Jonathan told him bluntly.

"I'm with you there." Ren replied, as the two men made their merry way through the sewers. The duo spotted several chairs lined up by the wall, the lack of dust indicating that they've been put there, though for what reason neither of them knew.

"Hey Ren, you have any idea why someone put some chairs here?" Jonathan asked.

"Beats me. Maybe someone's setting up a base here or something." Ren suggested offhandedly. The duo continued their little trip through the sewers until they stumbled upon a door and opened it. They then saw a room that had several monitors on the back wall, each one of them indicated by a number. Just then, Venam walked up to the duo from behind.

"Good thing you're here, the doors to the backup generator have shut down again." Venam informed them. "You have to activate these monitors in the correct order, in order to get the doors back online."

"Yeah, I have a problem with that." Jonathan raised his hand. "I have no clue what the correct order is."

"I would tell you, but that would take the fun away from the puzzle. See ya!" Venam smiled, skipping out of the room.

"Ugh, things just got a lot more frustrating here…" Ren sighed. "Let's just activate them non-stop, until we get the correct order."

"And set off a booby trap?!" Jonathan balked. "Because that sounds like something Venam would pull."

"Well what else are we supposed to do?!" Ren raised his voice, as Jonathan sighed and made his way to the monitors, where he proceeded to study them intensely, before activating them. A buzzing sound emanated from the central monitor, indicating that the order was incorrect.

' _Alright, let's try this again…'_ Jonathan thought to himself, as he activated the monitors in a different order, only for him to hear the buzz again. "Aw come on!" Jonathan growled in frustration, as Ren snickered to himself. An entire hour went by, with Jonathan getting angrier and angrier with each failed attempt, until Ren walked up to him.

"Allow me to try." Ren offered, as he proceeded to activate the monitors, with a chime emanating from the middle monitor, indicating that the order was correct. "I remember Melia telling me about the order to activate these monitors a few days ago." Ren explained.

"You knew the order this whole time…" Jonathan asked, before he grabbed Ren by the shoulders. "AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THIS?!" he snarled.

"Well I would have told you, but I remembered how a certain someone punched me in the arm earlier today." Ren replied, as he got Jonathan's hands off his shoulders and began walking towards the door. "I'll see you there." As Ren exited the room, Jonathan walked up to the back wall and stared at it, before his face scowled in rage.

"GOD DAMN IT!" he roared while punching the wall, scraping his knuckles on the wall's rough surface. Jonathan winced in pain and buried his hand in his pocket, as he stormed out of the room. A few minute later, he spotted Venam and Ren standing by a door, the former having a frown on her face.

"What took you so long back there?" Venam asked.

"Poor little Jonathan was struggling with the monitors, so I helped him out." Ren answered, a teasing smile on his face.

"Yeah…trouble…" Jonathan gritted, resisting the urge to knock Ren out and dump him in the sewer water.

"Anyway, the door's open now, so we can go check up on Melia." Venam called out, as she entered the room. Ren and Jonathan stared at each other for a few seconds, before the latter broke the ice.

"So I guess we're even then." Jonathan said, having calmed down from the previous incident.

"Yeah, we are." Ren replied. "Come on now, wouldn't want to leave Melia hanging, do we?" the two men the proceeded to enter the room. The generator room was significantly cleaner than the rest of the sewer, with little to no debris, aside from a trio of large gears on the western side of the room. The water in the small pool at the back was so clean, it could almost pass for the water one can get at a supermarket. At the back of the room was a large computer with several screens on it, and close to a hundred and fifty buttons on the keyboard, with a blonde haired girl using the large machine. Lying down on the middle of the floor was Venam pulling her usual trick.

"So hungry…" she groaned. "Berries, need berries…"

"I swear she's doing this on purpose…" Ren whispered to Jonathan, who nodded in agreement.

"The light…I can see the light…" Venam continued.

"You're not fooling anyone Venam. Get up off the floor right now." The blonde girl called out, her angelic voice resonating with Jonathan. He heard this exact same voice back when he was at the Gearen Laboratory.

"I know…but I'm bored already." Venam sighed, getting up off the floor. "When will you be done fiddling with the computer?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know. I can't pinpoint the location off the error…it's so bizarre." The blonde girl replied, turning to face the trio, only to gaze at Jonathan. "You there, haven't I seen you somewhere?"

"I think so. I was getting registered for the Aevium League, when I saw you exit the back room." Jonathan replied. "The name's Jonathan, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm Melia, it's nice to meet you as well." She smiled, causing the young man to develop a faint blush on his cheeks. Melia was one of, if not, the most beautiful women Jonathan has ever seen. She has short blonde hair, with a red ribbon on the left side, as well as bright blue eyes. Her outfit consists of a black long-sleeved shirt, with a white undershirt, and a black skirt. She also wears black boots with thigh-high socks, and a red scarf.

"So err…I heard you were going to Goldenwood Forest." The young man stuttered, trying his hardest not to break down in front of the majestic young woman that was Melia.

"Well I was, but then the power to the train had been cut. So I've been trying to figure out a way to power up the backup generator." Melia explained. "Anyway, I should check up on my experiment."

"Experiment…?" Jonathan inquired.

"I remembered Melia saying something about the rumours surrounding Trubbish and Garbodor. About how if you leave trash in a pile of filth for a few days, it'll mutate into a Pokémon." Ren informed her.

"Don't forget that Melia's basically a superhero, what with her special power." Venam added.

' _Superhero? It's like they want me to fall for her…'_ Jonathan thought to himself.

"Oh Venam, you're exaggerating again! I don't have any super powers." Melia replied.

"Don't lie Melia, Shiny Pokémon flock to you all the time. Take pride in it, bruh." Venam retorted.

"Shiny Pokémon?!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"Yeah didn't you know? Melia has some sort of special ability to track Shiny Pokémon. It's been invaluable to Professor Jenner's research." Ren told the young man.

"If that's the case, then maybe the Pokémon she created would be shiny as well." Jonathan deduced, as all four people were silenced by the sounds of something munching on a metal pipe.

"What was that?" Venam asked, as all four of them turned to face the small pool in the room, where they saw a Garbodor with a purple bag over its body eating the metal pipes coming out of the large computer.

"I recognise that bag, it was the one I used in my experiment." Melia commented, as the Garbodor ceased eating and quietly slipped into the water.

"Now where did it go?" Ren called out, as the Garbodor and two Trubbish burst out of the water and confronted the trainers.

"Well there's your answer." Jonathan replied, startled by what happened.

"That Garbodor seems super hostile, we should deal with it ourselves." Ren suggested to Jonathan, who agreed with the proposal. After all, it does give him a chance to look good in front of Melia.

"Alright then. I choose you Vilucard!" Jonathan called out, as a Pokémon that no one else in the room has seen before, materialised from the Pokéball. The Vilucard was a Pokémon that had a cat like face, with sharp fangs and bat like ears. Its slender body was a dark purple, with a pair of wings that were like a bat, but with cat paws for hands. The feet were long and slender, ideal for sneaking around the place. Finally, it had a tail that swayed from side to side, in a slow methodical manner. The Vilucard stared at the enemy Pokémon, before a smirk appeared on its face.

"What is that?!" Venam cried out in shock.

"A Vilucard. They're a mischievous breed of Pokémon exclusive to the Tandor Region." Jonathan explained. "This little fellow just so happens to be one of my most trusted companions."

"Wait, did you say Tandor?" Melia inquired.

"Yeah, why'd you ask?" Jonathan replied.

"I remember receiving a call from Professor Jenner that a trainer with Pokémon exclusive to the Tandor Region was coming to check up on me." Melia explained. "I didn't expect it to be you."

"Well my mother did say I somehow find a way to surprise everyone." Jonathan lightly chuckled, before remembering the incident on the boat and became silent.

"I hate to break up this fascinating discussion, but we've got a group of menacing Pokémon to deal with." Ren called out, as he sent out a Murkrow. The five Pokémon stared each other down, as the two Trubbish walked in front of the Garbodor.

"Time for me to start things off. Vilucard, use Zen Headbutt on the left Trubbish!" Jonathan called out, as Vilucard smirked at the Trubbish, the Villainous Pokémon's head glowing a harsh blue, before charging at the Trubbish. The Trubbish was sent flying back, crying out in pain as it collided with a wall, before falling to the ground, knocked out from the attack.

"Hah, how'd you like that?" Jonathan smirked.

"Not bad, but wait until you see this. Murkrow, use Brave Bird!" Ren ordered. Murkrow nodded as it took to the air and did a loop-de-loop, before flying towards the second Trubbish, the bird's body glowing harshly. The Trubbish barely hand anytime to react before it too was sent hurtling towards the wall and was knocked out.

"Your Murkrow knows Brave Bird already?!" Jonathan exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah." Ren replied. "It took a while to teach it, but it was worth it." The Garbodor then stepped towards the two trainers, starring daggers at them, before firing a large blob of poison at the two of them. The trainers narrowly dodged the attack, as the poison splashed on to the gears, and began to slowly corrode them.

"Gunk Shot…this Garbodor's incredibly well trained." Jonathan muttered, as he got up off the ground. "Alright Vilucard, use Drain Life!" he called out.

"Drain Life?" Venam asked.

"It's the signature move of the Vilucard evolutionary line. They drain the opponent's blood with their fangs, restoring their energy in the process." Jonathan explained, as Vilucard silently crept up to Garbodor from behind and bit down on it. The Garbodor cried out in pain, as it's blood was being drained from it's body, before Vilucard suddenly stopped, it's eyes widened in shock. Freeing the Garbodor from it's grasp, Vilucard began spitting up the Garbodor's blood, a look of disgust on it's face.

"I forgot…most Poison type Pokémon have foul tasting blood." Jonathan sighed, smacking his face with his palm.

"Well that makes this two time I've cleaned up your mistakes. Murkrow use Brave Bird again!" Ren called out, as his Pokémon proceeded to use Brave Bird, only to get knocked out of the sky, courtesy of Garbodor using it's right arm to Pound it. The Murkrow then crumpled onto the ground, barely managing to get up.

"Oh wow, nice job cleaning up my mistake." Jonathan retorted sarcastically. "Now then Vilucard, use Zen Headbutt!" Vilucard recovered from the awful tasting blood and proceeded to charge at the enemy Pokémon, it's head glowing a harsh blue. Like with before, the attack collided, dealing a lot of damage to Garbodor, however the Trash Heap Pokémon quickly ate a Sitrus Berry to recover some health, before letting out a massive Belch, sending Vilucard flying back.

"Argh…it knows Belch as well…?" Jonathan sighed, covering his nose.

"We gotta finish it quickly, before it uses any more dangerous attacks." Ren called out. "Murkrow, use Pursuit!" The Murkrow nodded and got up into the air, before flying at extremely quick speeds, its body coated in a faint aura of darkness.

"I'm not staying out of this one. Vilucard, use Zen Headbutt one last time!" Steven ordered, as Vilucard got up off the ground and used Zen Headbutt again. Both Pokémon collided into Garbodor at the same time, creating a large explosion that sent dust up into the air. Once the dust died down, everyone noticed that the Garbodor was knocked out. Both Ren and Jonathan walked up to their exhausted Pokémon.

"That was a job well done." Jonathan smiled at Vilucard, crouching down and petting its head.

"Yeah, talk about an intense battle." Ren added, picking up his Murkrow and perching it on its shoulder. Unbeknownst to the duo, Venam walked up to one of the Trubbish and threw a Pokéball at it. The ball wiggled a few times, before the red light died out, indicating that it was successfully captured.

"You're mine!" she smiled to herself, picking up the Pokéball and pocketing it discreetly.

"You two were amazing!" Melia smiled, walking up to them. "I could have dealt with them myself, but it was still an enjoyable battle. I especially like how well trained that Vilucard is; you must be an exceptionally skilled trainer." She praised Jonathan.

"Well I do put in the effort to make sure my Pokémon are in tip-top shape, Ehehehehehe…" he chuckled lightly, a blush on his face.

"Now that the source of the power outages has been stopped, we can get some engineers to fix up the pipes and wires. Everything should be all right." Melia commented.

"I'll help fix up the problem here. I've got nothing better to do, since I got kicked out again." Venam said.

"Alright then." Melia replied, before turning to face Jonathan. "Would you like to accompany me to Goldenwood Forest? I'm sure you'll love the scenery." She offered.

"Hell yeah I would!" Jonathan replied, grinning like crazy, not noticing the annoyed look on Ren's face.

"I'll meet you there whenever you're ready. The station is to the north of Gearen City." Melia informed him, before she proceeded to leave the room.

"I gotta get out of here. Professor Jenner wants me to research some books at the Magnolia Library; catch you later." Ren called out, his voice containing the slightest traces of frustration, as he left the room as well.

"Well, Venam, it was nice meeting you. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some things to do." He farewelled Venam, as he too left the room.

 **Well talk about a fascinating chapter. Not only was Venam introduced, but Melia as well. Speaking of which, I've decided to pair Jonathan with Melia, since I feel that the two of them would click very well. As for Valerie, she'll be a close friend of Jonathan. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Previously, Jonathan met Venam and Melia for the first time, and helped Ren fight off a group of rogue Pokémon. Impressed by his abilities, Melia offered Jonathan to accompany her to Goldenwood Forest.**

 **Note: Since my co-writer has gone on a vacation, I will be writing this chapter alone, with the chapters coming out later than usual. If there are any grammatical errors, then I apologise.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, it is the property of its creator, SuperJanBro.**

Chapter 3:

Jonathan had exited the sewers and took in a deep breath; nothing was better than fresh air after going down into the sewers. He then glanced at his watch, which read _5:30_. Jonathan figured that he might check out that help center that he saw earlier today. So the young man backtracked to the tall building with the billboard advertising the Help Center, and entered it.

When he entered the Help Center, the first thing he did was bring out the sheet of paper he took from the billboard and read it.

 _To whoever reads this._

 _Please help me, my precious Starly was taken from me by some thugs. They're demanding that I pay an exorbitant ransom to ensure my Starly's safe return. Please help me!_

Jonathan read it carefully, before noticing a problem; the client had failed to put down their location for the then went to the front desk, and showed the request to the receptionist, asking about the client.

"Oh, that one? She said something about resting up in the lobby of the Gearen Laboratory." The receptionist answered. "Be careful sir, from what I heard, those thugs are infamous across Gearen for their brutality."

"Don't you worry m'lady, I'll take care of the crooks." Jonathan tipped his fedora at her, before picking up the request and pocketing it, and leaving the building. Half an hour later, Jonathan had arrived at the Gearen Laboratory Lobby, and brought out the sheet of paper, showing it to the people there. Eventually, he managed to located the client; a young girl with black hair done up into two pigtails, wearing a red scout uniform.

"Thank you for taking my request sir." The girl gratefully thanked Jonathan, a few dried up tears on her cheeks.

"No problem." He replied. "So what happened?"

"Well me and Starly were walking in the Petal Garden, when those awful thugs ambushed us. They took Starly and handed me a ransom note, before pushing me onto the ground." The girl recalled, the painful memories sending shivers down her spine.

"Wait, they actually pushed you?!" Jonathan inquired.

"Yes. Why'd you ask?" the girl replied.

"Just wanted to double check…" Jonathan replied with some hesitance in his voice. "Where did they go?"

"They said something about the Badlands, an extremely dangerous place that can only be accessed by boat, meaning they must be at the Gearen Docks." The girl answered.

"Thank you for that, I shall return with your precious Starly." Jonathan told her, as he then left the building and made his way to the Gearen Docks.

 **An hour later**

Jonathan was walking down the docks, searching for any signs of the Starly. His thought process was interrupted by the sounds of a Pokémon in distress, and the sounds of a few men chuckling. The young man ran to the source of the noise, and spotted the Starly he was asked to search of, with a look of distress on its face, locked inside a cage that was near the feet of a couple of gangsters, who looked very familiar to the young man

"Hey assholes!" Jonathan shouted, attracting the attention of the gangsters. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" the leader of the gang locked eyes with Jonathan, before walking up to him.

"We meet yet again…" the gang leader snarled, his fists grasping his baseball bat tightly.

"Hey, I hate it about as much as you do, but you're the ones who assaulted a young girl and stole her Pokémon." Jonathan pointed out.

"Heh, what's wrong with beating up a weak trainer and stealing their Pokémon?" the gang leader sneered.

"It's one thing to steal a trainer's Pokémon…but it's an entirely different thing to beat up an innocent little girl." Jonathan growled. "Only scumbags like you would stoop to beating up a woman."

"Scumbag?! I'll teach you not to piss me off!" the gang leader snapped, bringing out a Pokéball from his pocket, before throwing it at the ground, sending out a Stunky.

"A Stunky? Heh, you chumps are easier than I anticipated." Jonathan smirked, as he sent out his trusty Yatagaryu. The thug's eyes up the Stormbringer Pokémon, a look of greed in their eyes.

"Hey boss, that looks like a mighty rare Pokémon, don't ya think?" a gang member commented.

"Indeed it does…that things bound to be worth millions on the Black Market." The leader grinned. "Once I defeat you, I'll take that fine looking Pokémon and sell it for lots of money!" he jeered, before laughing like a maniac.

"You!" Jonathan snapped. "I'll make you eat those words! Yatagaryu, use Thunder on that Stunky!" the draconic Pokémon unleashed a wicked bolt of lightning onto the Stunky, knocking it out instantly. The gang members were shocked at seeing one of their leader's Pokémon knocked out so easily.

"Whoa! That thing's a lot stronger than I anticipated!" a gang member exclaimed.

"Our Pokémon are useless against that thing, I'm getting out of here!" a second one panicked.

"Compose yourselves! I still have another Pokémon." The leader barked, as he called out his Trubbish. Jonathan simply stared at the Trubbish and scoffed to himself; he'd defeated a Garbodor earlier today, and this Trubbish didn't look that strong.

"Don't worry Yatagaryu, this shouldn't be too hard." The young man reassured his Pokémon. "Now why don't we go for a Dragon Pulse this time?" Jonathan suggested. The Stormbringer Pokémon charged up a beam of draconic power, and fired it at the Trash Bag Pokémon, sending it flying into the wall of a warehouse, instantly knocking it out. By this point, the gang leader had a look of terror on his face, as he returned the Trubbish to its Pokéball.

"Sweet Arceus! That thing is so powerful!" the gang leader exclaimed in shock, as he and his crew walked back a few feet.

"Hand over the Starly, and I'll let you go. Don't make me repeat myself." Jonathan warned, as his Yatagaryu glared daggers at the gangsters.

"Hey boss, the boat's here!" a gang member called out, staring at a single-mast yacht that was arriving at the dock. The hull was incredibly grubby, and half of the yacht's name had fallen off the side. The gang leader glanced at the yacht briefly, before sneering back at Jonathan.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You may have won the battle, but in the end, we're the victors." The gang leader cackled, a few droplets of spit flying out his mouth. The gangsters were about to pick up the cage and walk onto the boat, when the voice of a middle-aged woman interrupted them.

"Gemagarugo!" the voice called out, as a trio of obsidian spikes emerged from the water and impaled the boat, rendering it useless.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?!" the gang leader roared, as Jonathan took this opportunity to sucker punch a gangster, and quickly nab the cage from their grasp, before running back to where he was. The leader noticed it a few seconds later, and pulled out a 9mm pistol from his jacket and aimed it at the young man.

"Not so fast, you little shit! Hand us the Starly, and we'll let you live." He snarled, as Jonathan then turned around and placed the cage beside his feet.

"Little dove, little dove, little dove, pity dove. A bird can no longer fly with clipped wings." The woman from before mused to herself, staring at the ruined yacht, as Jonathan and the gang looked up towards the roof of the warehouse. Standing on the roof was a middle-aged lady with long green hair, and brown eyes. She wore what appeared to be a black suit, and matching black pants.

"We can't have peasants like you running around." She glared daggers at the gangsters. "Do you think you'll just be able to do as you please around here?"

"What's our business to you, bitch?" the gang leader growled. The lady then gazed at the leader, a mixture of contempt and pity in her eyes.

"Awww…that's too bad. I was going to let you go, but I changed my mind." She sighed, before making some sort of odd gesture with her hands. "Aevogio!" she called out, as she walked off the roof and gracefully hovered down to the ground, her body surrounded by a magical aura. Both Jonathan and the gang were at a complete loss for words, as the lady landed smoothly onto the ground, before staring at the gangsters once more.

"As punishment for attempting to steal this poor little pigeon, all of you will become my servants, and I will make sure that you all get taught proper manners." She said coolly.

"And what if we say no?" the gang leader sneered. Sighing once again, the lady chanted another spell, surrounding all of the gangsters in a magical aura, and lifting them off the ground. With a simple flick of the wrist, the gangsters were sent flying into the horizon, screaming all the way.

"I'm just retrieving this Starly for my client, I mean no harm!" Jonathan raised his hands in the air, as both he and his Yatagaryu had frightened looks in their eyes.

"I know. I did witness the event after all…" the woman coyly smirked. "The name's Karen. I'd tell you more, but that would ruin the mystery."

"Wh-what was all that about?" He gathered the courage to ask.

"A little creation of mine, courtesy of my magic. Magic is a beautiful thing, a thing forgotten by humans out of fear." Karen explained, still retaining her smirk. "Ever heard of the Garufa?"

"Uhh…can't say I have." Jonathan replied sheepishly.

"The Garufa were a powerful tribe that roamed the world centuries ago. They harvested the power of Pokémon, and together with their soul, created a series of powerful grimoires." Karen went into detail about the Garufa and their history. "This allowed them to cast powerful spells, depending on the type of the Pokémon that was sacrificed. For instance, the obsidian spikes I created required the combined soul of a Rock-type, and a Fire-type Pokémon; I just used a Magcargo."

"Uh-huh…" Jonathan replied, his mind running wild with the thought of using powerful magic, albeit obtaining it in a cruel and inhumane way.

"Welp, I've got to fix up my mess here. You go bring that pigeon back to its trainer now." Karen called out, as she turned to face the ruined boat. Jonathan sighed a breath of relief, returning his Yatagaryu and picking up the cage, before heading back to the Gearen Laboratory.

 **An hour later**

Jonathan entered the building, with the Starly in tow. The young girl noticed the man, and immediately got up off her chair, upon seeing her beloved Starly.

"You did it! You got my Starly back!" she cheered, wrapping her arms around Jonathan and hugging him tightly.

"No problem. I'd recommend giving the little fella a check-up, since I found him in this cage." He replied, handing the cage over to the young girl.

"Did the thugs give you any trouble?" she inquired. Jonathan had to be careful with what to say next, knowing that she wouldn't believe the things he saw at that dock.

"Well let's just say that they won't be causing any more trouble from now on…" he replied a little uneasily. The girl pondered the answer for a bit, before handing him a sealed envelope.

"Here's the reward for completing my request. Thanks again!" she smiled, as she let Starly out of the cage and returned it to it's Pokéball, before walking up to the nurse's desk. Jonathan tucked the envelope into his bag and proceeded to make his way to the room he borrowed for tonight. The Gearen Laboratory had a plentiful amount of rooms for beginning trainers to rest up for the night, provided they book it in advance. Jonathan had managed to book a room whole he was getting registered for the league. He then walked down the corridor, and stopped at a room that was near a set of restrooms. Inserting the keycard into the slot, he opened the door and entered the room, making sure to close the door afterwards.

The room was fairly quaint, though nothing too fancy. There were your usual luxuries, such as a bed, drawer, and desk lamp. To the right was the bathroom, containing a toilet, shower, and a sink. Jonathan got his bag of his back, and realised that all his spare clothes were at the bottom of the sea now. So he simply got undressed until he was left in his singlet and boxers, and tucked himself into bed, as he began reading his Gym Leader Monthly magazine for a bit.

' _Well I can say that today was interesting. I dealt with some scumbags and retrieved a Starly for a young girl, I got registered for the Aevium League, and learnt a bit more about this regions history, and I met some new people today.'_ Jonathan thought to himself. _'Venam's an upbeat jokester, Ren can be a prick at times, and Melia…'_ Jonathan continued thinking to himself, before he began thinking about Melia.

A strange feeling came over the young man; what was it about Melia that caused him to develop this feeling? Was it her intelligence, her beauty, her personality, or even her special gift? Jonathan shrugged this feeling away, as he placed the magazine on the drawer, and switched off the lamp, before rolling over and drifting off into sleep.

 **The next morning**

Jonathan was woken up by the sound of the alarm clock ringing throughout the room, and promptly turned it off. With a tired look in his eye, he got out of the cosy bed, and shuffled his way into the bathroom, where he got undressed and turned the shower on, before stepping inside. The young man sighed a deep breath of relief; warm showers were the first thing he looks forward to in a day, and today was no exception. But there was a second reason why today's going to be a good day; he was going to accompany Melia in Goldenwood Forest. Like last night, the strange feeling overcame his body, the moment he thought about her.

' _Again? Why do I get this feeling every time I think about her?'_ the young man thought to himself, as he continued to wash his fairly lean body. Five minutes later, Jonathan turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, as he began to dry himself. After doing so, he exited the bathroom and proceeded to get dressed, mentally wincing about wearing the same pair of boxers two days in a row.

' _The first thing I'm going to do once I get some more money, is buy myself some new clothes'_ Jonathan thought to himself, as he finished getting dressed and packed up all his stuff. After double-checking that both the bedroom and the bathroom were cleaned up, Jonathan then exited the room and locked it with the key card. He then made his way to the front desk, and handed the card back to the receptionist.

"Here's your card back, and thank you for letting me stay overnight." Jonathan said.

"No problem young man. We hope you enjoyed your stay~" the receptionist replied, a smile on her face.

"One more thing, where's the train station that leads to Goldenwood Forest?" the young man asked.

"The station's located in the northern part of the city. The next train to Goldenwood Forest is set to leave in around 18 minutes." The receptionist answered. Nodding in appreciation, Jonathan proceeded to exit the laboratory, and make his way to the train station.

 **13 minutes later**

Jonathan had arrived at the train station, and was surprised to see the familiar face of Tesla, having a brief chat with one of the train conductors. Once their conversation ended, Tesla then noticed the young man and walked up to him.

"Oh Jonathan! How are you going? Are you feeling okay?" Tesla inquired.

"Well…apart from the fact my mother's still missing, I'm doing alright, thank you very much." Jonathan replied.

"…I see." Tesla said, a mournful look on her face. "After dropping you off at the docks, I flew back to the boat in an attempt to rescue more survivors, but it had already sank by the time I got there."

"OH NO! My mother was on that boat, and she's now at the bottom of the ocean!" Jonathan panicked, as he fell to his knees and was on the verge of having a breakdown. However Tesla picked him up off the floor and gently petted his shoulder.

"There, there. You mother's going to be fine; we both have to get stronger if we want to rescue her." Tesla reassured the young man.

"Th-thanks ma'am…" Jonathan stuttered, wiping a tear away from his eye.

"I assume you're heading over to Goldenwood Forest?" Tesla predicted, with Jonathan nodding in response. "It's such a wonderful place. The golden leaves on the trees, and the smell of autumn bring back nostalgic memories for me…" the Elite 8 member reminisced.

"I'm not really a nature guy, to be honest." Jonathan admitted.

"Really? Well perhaps I can help change that. How about I cover the cost for the ticket this time?" Tesla suggested.

"You would do that? Thank you very much Tesla!" Jonathan thanked the lady, a small smile on his face.

"No problem! Just make sure you enjoy yourself." Tesla replied, as she walked over to the front desk. "I'll take one ticket to Goldenwood Forest please."

"One ticket for Goldenwood Forest, coming up!" the conductor at the desk called out, as he accepted Tesla's payment and handed her a ticket. Tesla then walked back to Jonathan and gave him the ticket.

"Here you go. I've got some official league business to catch up on, see you later!" Tesla said, as she proceeded to walk out of the station. Jonathan looked at the ticket briefly, before making his way to the train. On the way there, he noticed a pair of young trainers helping an elderly gentleman onto a chair.

"Sir, you've got to rest your back!" the male trainer told him.

"How can I?! My precious grand-daughter is all alone in the forest." The old man panicked.

"Don't worry, we'll send someone to go find her." The female trainer reassured him. At that moment, Jonathan walked up to the trio.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

"My grand-daughter wandered off into the forest, and I injured myself trying to find her." The old man informed the youth. "Can you go please find her and let her know that I'm at the Gearen City train station?"

"No problem. However I will need a photo of her, to make things easier." Jonathan accepted the request. The old man had an ecstatic look on his face, as he retrieved a photo of him and his granddaughter from his wallet, and handed it over to Jonathan.

"Here you go. Thank you so very much." He replied, as the two trainers continued to help the man, as Jonathan then made his way to the train and boarded it. As he was walking to an empty seat, the ticket master came up to him and requested to see his ticket. Jonathan showed him the ticket, with the ticket master wishing him a good trip in response. The young man then sat down on a seat and looked out the window, as the train began to make its way to Goldenwood Forest. The scenery quickly changed from the tall buildings of Gearen City, to a lush green forest that was teeming with various species of Grass, Bug, and Normal type Pokémon. After around 10 minutes, the green trees were replaced by the golden trees that Goldenwood Forest gets its name from. The train then ground to a halt, indicating that it was the end of the line.

As Jonathan and the other passengers hopped off the train, the young man was awestruck at what he saw. Asides from the golden trees, there was also several small lakes and ponds, as well as tall, lush grass everywhere. The young man had to admit it to himself; nature can be really beautiful at times. Jonathan was about to begin searching for the little girl, when he soon noticed Melia a few feet away from him, gazing at a pair of Emolga resting on a tree branch.

"So you decided to accompany me after all?" Melia turned around and stared at him.

"O-o-of course! I wouldn't miss an opportunity like this." Jonathan blurted out, a little embarrassed over showing up late.

"No need to worry." Melia smiled, as she gestured at a tall, cylindrical machine, with a keyboard and a tray meant for holding six Pokéballs. "In case your Pokémon get hurt, you can use this machine to heal them up. Do you like them? They're the latest invention of Blakeory Co."

"Ah yes, they seem to be rather useful." Jonathan replied. "However I'm going to be a while. I'm helping an old man find his missing granddaughter."

"You're helping an elderly person find their missing grandchild?" Melia pondered, deducing it to be the reason for Jonathan's tardiness. "That's so sweet of you. I'll go on ahead into the forest. Don't take too long~" Melia smiled, briefly winking at him, as she walked off into the forest. Jonathan developed a faint blush on his face, before shaking his head to make it go away, and proceeded to begin the search for the lost girl.

 **1 hour later**

Jonathan had been searching the forest for some time now, but to no avail. Either this young girl was an expert at hiding, or something seriously bad happened to her.

' _Argh, it's no use. I've searched this forest for around an hour no, and still no sign of her. Perhaps I should try searching by that big lake in the center.'_ He thought to himself, as he proceeded to make his way to the lake. Once arriving there, he stared at the body of water for a bit, amazed by its beauty. The water was sparklingly clear, with no signs of rubbish or leaf litter in sight. All around the water's edge, were trainers battling against each other, as well as a few trainers fishing for Pokémon. His eyes then locked onto a shrine standing at the edge of the water…with what appeared to be a pink Pokémon on a tree branch near the shrine. Jonathan walked over there to get a closer look, only to realise that the pink thing wasn't a Pokémon, but a little girl with pink hair, specifically the one he was supposed to look for.

"Excuwse me, twainer!" the little girl cried out in a cute voice. "I want to get down from here, but…I'm stuck. Pwease hewlp!"

"Hold on their sweetheart!" Jonathan ran up to the tree, and opened his arms. "Jump down, and I'll catch you!"

"But I'm scared…" she whimpered.

"Don't worry, I'll promise to catch you!" Jonathan called out. The little girl then proceeded to jump down, with Jonathan managing to catch her in time. "Are you alright?" he asked her, lowering her onto the ground.

"Thank you twainer!" she smiled, doing a little curtsy with her blue dress.

"By the way, your grandfather's waiting at the train station." Jonathan replied, handing her the photo the old man gave him.

"Wa!? Gwandpa's waiting for me at the twain station?" the girl inquired.

"Yes, he is. Do you want me to bring you to the train station?" Jonathan offered.

"No thanks, I can make my way back their on my own. Thanks for getting me down twianer!" the little girl replied, as she quickly made her way towards the train station. Just then, a fisherman walked up to Jonathan.

"Don't worry about her, I'll keep an eye on her. I have to get back home anyway." The fisherman informed the young man, as the two went their separate ways. Now that Jonathan has finished his little side-quest, he was ready to meet up with Melia again, and continued to trek through the forest, until he stumbled upon what appeared to be a cave. Figuring that Melia entered this cave for some reason, Jonathan took a deep breath, and proceeded to enter the cave.

The cave was very peaceful, with virtually no sound, except for the quiet dripping of water falling from the ceiling into the average sized body of water to the left of the young man. The ground has a few mushrooms growing in the dark areas of the cave, where they remained untouched by sunlight, as well as an abundance of moss-covered rocks. Jonathan brought out his Pokédex and turned it on, using it as an additional source of light.

"Hey Melia, are you in here?" Jonathan called out, as he walked further into the cave, his feet walking over the loose gravel on the floor, erasing the silence of the cave. After a few minutes, he stumbled upon a chamber at the back of the cave, a faint light emanating from it. Jonathan entered the room, and noticed that Melia was on a raised platform, staring at the back wall with a candle in her left hand.

"That's strange…he said that the inscriptions would be here, but I don't see anything." Melia whispered to herself, as the sound of Jonathan's footsteps alerted her, causing her to turn around.

"My sincerest apologies, m'lady." Jonathan exclaimed, tipping his fedora.

"It's alright." Melia replied. "So did you find the girl you were looking for?"

"Yes I did. She'd gotten stuck up a tree, and I helped her down. A local fisherman offered to escort her back to the train station." Jonathan informed her.

"That's wonderful to here." The young woman smiled, brushing aside her gorgeous blonde hair.

"So what are we doing here?" Jonathan inquired.

"Well I was sent here to analyse some inscriptions that were supposedly written on this wall…" Melia began, before a frustrated look grew on her face. "But as you can see, there's nothing here."

"Huh…maybe Professor Jenner made a miscalculation." The young man suggested.

"This isn't the first time a thing like this has happened. My father keeps sending me to these locations that end up becoming duds." Melia continued, resting her hand against the wall. The part of the wall her hand touched was pushed into the wall, as the cave began to shake, causing a few small stalactites to fall to the ground.

"Now what's going on?!" Jonathan asked out loud, as the wall gradually separated, until a small entrance appeared where Melia touched the wall. A few seconds later, the shaking ceased, the two trainers staring at the entrance with a look of curiosity.

"Perhaps there was something to this place after all…" Melia mused to herself, as she walked through the new entrance, with Jonathan following in tow. Both trainers stared in awe at what they saw; the cave was hiding a small forest of golden trees, much like the ones outside. The main centrepiece of the cave was a tall statue, depicting the Legendary Pokémon Arceus.

"Now this is peculiar. Why is there a statue of an Arceus hidden away here?" Melia asked herself, taking a closer look at the statue, until her eyes locked onto a plaque. "Huh, there's an inscription on the pedestal. It appears to be written in an ancient language."

"Are you able to decipher it?" Jonathan inquired, walking up to her to get a better look at the statue.

"I can, but since it's a little faded, I might not be able to get it all." Melia replied, as she began to read the plaque. It took a while for her to decipher it, but eventually she was able to, and began reading what she had translated out loud. "…where there is life, there is also death…" "…four shadows…destruction…"

"So was that it?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, the rest of the plaque was too faded to read." Melia answered. "A pity, since I was really curious about what it meant by four shadows. I can't complain too much though, this was the most interesting thing I've ever seen on an investigation."

"Why don't we report our findings to Professor Jenner? Maybe he has a device that could enable us to read a bit more of the inscription." Jonathan suggested, as he was about to leave, only for Melia to reach out and grab his shoulder.

"Jonathan. Did you know that I'm next in line to become a Gym Leader?" Melia informed him.

"Really?!" the young man replied. "When did this happen?"

"The Normal type Gym Leader passed away recently, and I'm ready to take their place. However I could use a bit more training, especially if more trainers decide to bring their Pokémon from Tandor, or other regions with their own exclusive Pokémon." Melia explained.

"Are you suggesting we have a battle?" Jonathan inquired.

"Of course! There's no one around to disturb us." Melia smiled, as she retrieved her Pokéballs.

"In that case, you're on!" Jonathan grinned, as the two trainers stood on opposite sides of each other, and sent out their first Pokémon. Jonathan had started things off with his trusty Vilucard, however Melia started off with a shiny Dodrio.

"A shiny Dodrio?! Was Venam right about you attracting shiny Pokémon?" the young man gasped.

"Heehee, I guess you can say that." Melia answered his question. "Now Dodrio, use Tri-Attack!" the Triple Bird Pokémon opened it's mouths and charged up a ball of different coloured energy in each mouth, until it formed into a triangle. It then fired the powerful attack at the Vilucard, dealing a lot of damage to the Villainous Pokémon, pushing it back a few feet.

"Wow! That attack hit way harder than I expected." Jonathan exclaimed. "Is this the power of the Aevium League?"

"Like what you saw, didn't you?" Melia quipped. "Don't worry, I've got plenty more where that came from!"

"I'm not going to stand there and take it. Vilucard, use Life Drain!" Jonathan called out. A smirk appeared on the Vilucard's face, as it hopped up into the trees and began to creep up towards the Dodrio. Melia was startled at how quickly Vilucard disappeared from her sight, until a thought overcame her.

' _Wait, I saw this tactic already during the battle against the Garbodor. I may have an idea on how to counter it.'_ Melia thought to herself. "Alright Dodrio, keep an ear out for Vilucard, and strike when the time is right!" the Dodrio stood still and closed its eyes, focusing on pinpointing Vilucard's location. While this was happening, Vilucard slithered down from a tree behind Dodrio, and snickered to itself. Quietly, it crept up behind the Triple Bird Pokemon, and was about to sink it's fangs into the opponent, when the Dodrio suddenly turned around and unleashed a barrage of lightning quick pecks at the Villainous Pokémon.

"What?!" Jonathan gasped. "How was Dodrio able to hear Vilucard?"

"There's more to battling than seeing your opponent. You've got to hear your opponent as well, in order to prevent any sneak attacks." Melia taught him. "Now why don't we finish things off with a Jump Kick?" the Dodrio nodded and proceeded to fling Vilucard into the air, before leaping up into the air and landing a powerful kick on the Villainous Pokémon, sending it hurtling towards the ground. Jonathan began to run towards it in an attempt to capture it, but was unsuccessful and the Pokémon crashed into the ground, creating a large impact crater. To the surprise of nobody, Vilucard was unable to battle.

"Argh…that attack did so much damage." Jonathan said to himself, before returning Vilucard to it's Pokéball. "I'll get you patched up once this is over." The young man then reached for another Pokéball and sent out another one of Tandor's unique Pokémon. This specimen appeared to be a large dragonfly, with six wings and six legs attached to its thorax. Its head featured two yellow eyes, sharp mandibles, and what appeared to be two bolt shaped spikes above its eyes. It also had a long tail that ended in a sharp spike.

"Wh-what is that thing?!" Melia exclaimed, staring at a Pokémon she hasn't seen before.

"Allow me to introduce you to my Harptera." Jonathan began, as the Dragonfly Pokémon buzzed up and down in the air at a rapid speed. "Harptera are some of the fiercest hunters in Tandor. They can fly at supersonic speeds, and use their spiked tails to skewer prey. You may have the advantage when it comes to types, but we'll see whether you can land a hit on my Harptera." The Harptera then proceeded to fly around the arena at extremely high speed, as Melia and Dodrio struggled to keep an eye on it.

' _Harptera may be fast, and it definitely looks powerful, but most Bug type Pokémon are known to be frail. A strong attack or two should be more than enough to defeat this for.'_ Melia thought to herself. "Alright Dodrio, let's go for another Tri-Attack!" Like before, the Dodrio began charging up it's attack, however this time Jonathan was going to strike them down.

"Another Tri-Attack? This'll be easy." He mused to himself. "Harptera, go for Rock Slide!" the Dragonfly Pokémon nodded and flew off into the cave, before picking up a large bolder and flew back to the Dodrio, it's speed hampered by the weight of the boulder.

' _What is he doing, hampering his Pokémon's greatest asset like that?!'_ Melia thought to herself, confused on why Jonathan would use such a strategy. She wasn't complaining though, as it gave her ample opportunity to allow Dodrio to charge up it's Tri-Attack. She waited until the Harptera was close to her Dodrio's position, before calling out for Dodrio to use Tri-Attack. The Triple Bird Pokémon fired it's powerful attack at the Dragonfly Pokémon, unaware that it had stumbled into Jonathan's trap.

' _Gotcha!'_ the young man thought, a smirk on his face. "Release the boulder Harptera!" he called out. The Harptera complied with the order and dropped the boulder, shielding it from the Tri-Attack, and causing the resulting rocks to shower upon Dodrio. The Triple Bird squawked in pain, as it's body was pelted with rocks, until it fell to the ground, greatly weakened from the assault. It didn't take Melia long to realise that Dodrio was unable to battle.

"You did well out there…" Melia comforted her Pokémon, returning it to its Pokéball, before turning to face Jonathan. "I must say, that was a rather interesting technique you used there."

"Thanks. I didn't even know Harptera could even learn Rock Slide until recently." Jonathan replied. "Now which of your Pokémon is going to fall next?"

"Heh, I'll make you eat those words. Go Ursaring!" Melia called out, sending out a rather large Ursaring that was shiny as well. "I figured that the best way to deal with your Harptera is to use an equally strong Pokémon."

"That Ursaring does look strong, but it's no match for us. Harptera, use X-Scissor!" Jonathan replied, as Harptera quickly flew into battle, it's tail glowing harshly. It then slashed the Ursaring's torso, dealing a decent amount of damage. The Ursaring then reached for what appeared to be a bright red orb, neatly tucked away in its shoulder fur and held it for a while. The Ursaring grimaced in pain for a second, before tucking the orb away, and inspecting the small burn marks on it's hands, and proceeded to give the Harptera a devilish grin.

"Time for another one of my special tricks. Ursaring, use Façade on Harptera!" Melia called out, as Ursaring began to charge at the Harptera, the bear's body glowing with an orange aura. It then swatted the Dragonfly Pokémon, sending it flying into a tree, causing it to fall down.

"Oh no!" Jonathan cried out, as he ran to the fallen tree, and scooped up his knocked out Pokémon. Returning it to it's Pokéball, he stared at Melia with a look of shock on his face. "I know that Ursaring have high attack power, but I didn't expect to get knocked out in one hit."

"It's simple really. Façade is a move which deals more damage, if the user is inflicted with a status ailment, such as a burn. A common strategy is to give a Pokémon a Flame Orb, and have it use Façade, to gain a significant power boost. However Ursaring can have Guts as an ability, which not only negates the Attack lowering effect of a burn, but increases a Pokémon's power as well. Combining all of these factors, on top of Ursaring's high Attack stat, and the end result should be easily explainable." Melia explained.

"Ahh, now I get it…" Jonathan replied, realising that Melia was not messing around. Just how strong are the Gym Leaders here, if a Pre-Leader is giving him a run for his money? Luckily for him, he had a Pokémon he knew he could count on. "Alright then, I choose you Yatagaryu!" Jonathan called out, as his trustworthy sidekick was sent out into battle.

"A Yatagaryu?! That's one of the very few Tandor Pokémon I know about." Melia exclaimed, her eyes sparkling at the majesty of the Stormbringer Pokémon.

"Ah, so you know about its powerful Electric type attacks." Jonathan replied. "Why don't I give you a firsthand demonstration then?"

"As much as I would like that, I'm not going to let a Pokémon like that run rampant. Go Ursaring, use Façade again!" Melia called out. The bear Pokémon glowed with the orange aura again, and proceeded to charge at the Yatagaryu. However things would be different this time.

"Time for us to devastate the battlefield. Use Thunder!" Jonathan cried out, as the Stormbringer Pokémon flew into the air and summoned a massive bolt of lightning, hitting the Ursaring dead on. The bear Pokémon then fell to it's knees, before promptly collapsing.

"Ursaring!" Melia cried out, as she ran up to her injured Pokémon. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Take a nice long rest…" Melia returned her Pokémon, before sending out her main Pokémon, which was a powerful Togetic, that was shiny as well.

"I can tell that you and Togetic are very close with each other." Jonathan commented, as Yatagaryu floated above the young man.

"Mm-hm. Me and Happiness have been partners since the beginning, and I'm ready to demonstrate our combined power to you." Melia replied. "Use Dazzling Gleam!" The Togetic nodded and began emitting a bright, rainbow coloured shine around it's body, before sending the rays out and striking the Yatagaryu, dealing a fair amount of damage and momentarily blinding it.

"Ah!" Jonathan cried out, as the Stormbringer Pokémon shook it's head for a bit, before staring down at the Togetic, who simply smiled at it. "You good to go?" Jonathan asked his Pokémon, whom gave a small growl of confirmation. "In that case, use Hyper Beam!" The Yatagaryu proceeded to charge up a bright orange ball of pure energy, before firing a beam of almighty power. Togetic narrowly dodged the attack, although it destroyed a few trees in the process.

' _Now's my chance to turn things around.'_ Melia thought to herself."Happiness, use Dazzling Gleam again!" The Togetic began sparkling in various colours again, before sending the rays of light at the grounded Yatagaryu, who was too exhausted to dodge the attack. The Stormbringer Pokémon cried out in pain, as it was sent flying a few feet back, before landing on the ground. It then struggled to get up, it's eyes continuing to stare daggers at the friendly Pokémon.

' _Hmmm, I don't think_ _it can take another attack. Gotta make this one count…'_ Jonathan thought to himself. "Alright Yatagaryu, use Thunder one more time!" he cried out, as Yatagaryu managed to fly into the air, albeit slower than before.

' _Argh! This is it, it all comes down to this.'_ Melia thought to herself. "Happiness, use Shadow Ball!" Togetic nodded and charged up a purplish-black ball of ominous energy. Meanwhile, Yatagaryu had flown up in the air and summoned a large bolt of lightning, and aimed it at the Togetic, whom finished charging up the Shadow Ball and sent it hurtling towards the bolt of lightning. The two attacks clashed with each other, with both trainers looking on to see who would come out on top. After a few seconds, the lightning bolt destroyed the Shadow Ball, and dealt critical damage to Togetic, knocking it out.

"Happiness, are you alright?!" Melia cried out, cradling her starter Pokémon. "You did well out there…" she commented, returning her Togetic back to its ball. Melia debated on sending out her last Pokémon, an Eevee she had recently caught. However she knew that despite the damage it took, the Yatagaryu could still knock out Eevee with ease. "I forfeit the match, I have no more Pokémon that can battle."

"Alright! We won again Yatagaryu!" Jonathan cheered, with his Pokémon giving a weak smile in response. "Now it's time for you to take a nice long rest." He said, returning his Pokémon to it's Pokéball.

"That was a really fun battle! I can tell that I still need a bit more training before I'm ready to become a Gym Leader." Melia smiled. "You an outstanding trainer Jonathan. I can tell that you will go far in the Aevium League."

"Uhh, thank you. Eheheheheh…" Jonathan replied, scratching the back of his head, a blush on the young man's face.

"Well it seems we're done here. Let's go back to the train station together." Melia suggested, as the two of them began to walk, only to hear what sounded like a large explosion.

"What was that?!" Jonathan asked.

"I don't know. We better check it out." Melia replied, as the two trainers began to run out the cave.

 **And here's where I'm going to wrap up things for now. I apologise for the late update, but hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter. The next chapter will focus around Team Xen's invasion of Goldenwood Forest.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Previously, Jonathan helped out a few people around Gearen City, and proceeded to explore Goldenwood Forest. There, he and Melia battled each other, which ended in a victory for the young man. The duo then proceeded to head back to Gearen Laboratory, but not before a sudden explosion halted their plans.**

 **Thanks for all your reviews everyone, you are all awesome!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, it is the property of its creator, SuperJanBro.**

Chapter 4:

Having healed their Pokémon back in the cave, the two trainers had ran out of the cave, and stumbled upon a scene of chaos. The forest was now filled with several black trucks and buggies, featuring a large red 'X' on the sides. Jonathan tensed up at the sight, he'd recognised the red X, it was the logo for Team Xen, the criminals responsible for blowing up the boat, and kidnapping his mother.

"Shhh! Keep your voice down, they haven't seen us yet." Melia whispered to the young man, as the two hid behind one of the trucks.

"Alright then." He replied quietly, gently opening his bag and taking out a bottle of water. "So what's the plan?" He asked, while taking small sips.

"We're gonna go through the bushes, and avoid detection. Simple stealth tactics." Melia informed him. The two moved out from behind the truck, and were about to commence sneaking, when they were halted by the voice of a young man. In an instant, a pair of Xen Grunts stormed up to the duo, their eyes locked on Melia.

"Well, well. It looks like we found our target." A grunt sneered, as he pushed aside Jonathan and grabbed Melia by the arm.

"L-Let go of me right now!" she demanded, desperately trying to push the grunt off her.

"I'm coming Melia!" Jonathan cried out, as he attempted to run up to her, only for the second grunt to pull out a handgun.

"Not so fast, little boy! I'm not afraid of using a gun on a child." The Xen grunt sneered, pointing the weapon at the young man, causing him to back off a few feet.

"Come on now Melia, it'll be better if you stopped resisting and come with us…" the first grunt told her, in an attempt to calm her down, only this made her even angrier.

"I SAID, LET GO OF ME!" Melia snapped, pushing the grunt, and throwing him into the air, rocketing him through the sky, the grunt screaming all the way. Jonathan and the second grunt were utterly shocked at what they saw.

"WHAT IN ALL THAT IS HOLY, DO YOU EAT FOR BREAKFAST?!" The second grunt exclaimed, scared out of his wits. The distraction gave Jonathan an opportunity to sucker-punch the grunt, knocking him out cold.

"Well then…that's those two taken care of." Jonathan commented, before he turned to Melia. "What the hell was that?!"

"I don't know…I was just trying to get him off me. I didn't anticipate throwing him across the sky." Melia replied.

"Either way, these guys are no joke. They blew up the ship that I was on. Had it not been for Tesla, I'd be on the bottom of the ocean." Jonathan explained.

"I know, I've heard about Team Xen." Melia told him. "They have Shadow Pokémon with them."

"Shadow Pokémon? What are they?" the young man inquired, a baffled expression on his face.

"Alright then, here's a little backstory. Shadow Pokémon were first created in the Orre region, 30 years ago, by an organisation known as Cipher. Their goal was to create an ultimate fighting machine, by shutting the door to their hearts, removing their emotions. Somehow, Team Xen acquired the technology to create their own Shadow Pokémon, which is far from good news." Melia informed the young man.

"So how do we deal with these Shadow Pokémon?" Jonathan inquired. Melia then reached for her bag and opened it, rummaging around for a few seconds, before retrieving a rather odd contraption. The device was some sort of metal glove, with a concave over the back of the hand. There was also what looked like a metal shoulder pad, attached to the glove, via a spiralling wire.

"Put this on." Melia instructed, as Jonathan put the device over his left arm. "This is a Snag Machine, a device created in the Pokémon HQ Lab of Orre, in an attempt to capture Cipher's Shadow Pokémon."

"Err thanks, but how did you get this?" Jonathan asked.

"I made it myself. I read up on them a few weeks ago, and decided to build on, to get a closer look at it." Melia replied. "We should snag some of their Pokémon, and take them back to the lab to purify them. Let's go!" Melia called out, as the two trainers began running.

Around ten minutes later, they came across the lake, and spotted a few black boats, with the all too familiar insignia of a red X. But what really caught their attention was the massive purplish-black orb, hovering a few feet over the Goldenwood Lake.

"What the hell is that?!" Jonathan gasped, his eyes refusing to move from the large orb.

"I don't know, but it can't be good." Melia commented. Just then, they were spotted by another Xen grunt, this one a female.

"Hey! It's that Melia girl. Come with us right now!" the grunt demanded.

"Over my dead body!" Melia retorted.

"Hehehe, that can be arranged…" the grunt sneered, sending out a Cherrim in its Overcast form.

"Too easy. Go Harptera!" Jonathan called out, as the large Dragonfly Pokémon materialised out of the Pokéball. Naturally, the Xen grunt was surprised at seeing a Pokémon she never saw before.

' _That appears to be a rare Pokémon, and rare Pokémon are usually powerful. Just imagine how powerful a Shadow version of it could be.'_ The grunt thought to herself. "Cherrim, use Growth!"

The Cherrim's large petals opened up, as it absorbed sunlight and changed into it's Sunshine form. The energy that it gained from the sun bolstered its attack power.

"Setting up your Cherrim to sweep me. Not a bad strategy, but it won't be enough. Harptera, use X-Scissor!" Jonathan called out. The Dragonfly Pokémon darted towards the Blossom Pokémon, it's tail glowing harshly.

"Protect!" the Xen grunt demanded. A wondrous wall appeared around the Cherrim, blocking the incoming attack and pushing Harptera a few feet back. "Now counter with Magical Leaf!" The Cherrim then flung a barrage of multi-coloured leaves that homed in on Harptera, dealing a small amount of damage.

"Are you alright Harptera?" Jonathan asked, as the Dragonfly Pokémon nodded in response. "Alright then, why don't we try an Aerial Ace?" the young man suggested. The Harptera then did a loop-de-loop and began flying at absurdly high speeds, surprising both the grunt and her Cherrim.

"Argh! It's too damn fast." She growled. "Go for another Magical Leaf!" The Cherrim launched another barrage of multi-coloured leaves, which managed to strike the incoming Pokémon, but like before they did little damage. The Harptera then struck the Blossom Pokémon, sending it flying into a tree, knocking it out.

"You're better than I thought…" the Xen grunt commented, returning her Cherrim. "But how will your bug fare against my Shadow Pokémon?!" she called out, as a Tympole materialised out of a pitch black Pokéball. Unlike regular Tympole, this one was coloured a harsh purple, and kept growling at Jonathan and his Harptera.

"I assume that's a Shadow Pokémon…" Jonathan asked Melia.

"Yep. What you need to do is hold an empty Pokéball in the palm of the Snag Machine, and wait for a little while." Melia replied, tossing the young man an empty Pokéball. "Try this one."

"Uh, alright then." Jonathan replied, as he caught the Pokéball and turned to face the battle. "Alright Harptera, since this is our first time facing a Shadow Pokémon, we can't charge in recklessly. We got to be on our guard."

"What's the matter, too scared to make a move?" the grunt jeered. "In that case, I'll start thing off. Use Shadow Wave!" the Tympole unleashed a wave of shadowy aura from its body, dealing a lot of damage to Harptera, causing the Dragonfly Pokémon to cry out in pain.

"What is this?!" Jonathan cried. "How could a Tympole deal that much damage?"

"It's the power of Shadow Pokémon. Their unique Shadow moves deal major damage to non-Shadow Pokémon." The grunt explained, her voice filled with arrogance. Suddenly, a black aura surrounded the Tympole, as it cried out in pain, surprising the grunt.

"It seems that the Tympole has entered Hyper Mode." Melia commented. "That's when a Shadow Pokémon's emotions rise to a fever pitch. The Pokémon takes some damage after using a Shadow Move, a possible side-effect of the cruel conversion."

"If that's the case, then we've got to end this battle as soon as possible." Jonathan called out. "Alright Harptera, use X-Scissor." The Harptera quickly flew into battle, and struck the Tympole with it's glowing tail, sending it back a few feet.

"Go Pokéball!" Jonathan threw the empty Pokéball at the Shadow Pokémon, the energy from the Snag Machine blocking the grunts own Pokéball. The Pokéball caught the weakened Tympole, and began shaking for around 5-10 seconds, before the light died out, indicated that the Pokémon was caught.

"Bu-but how?!" the grunt cried out, as Melia gingerly picked up the Pokéball.

"It's a rather easy process, but I won't tell you." Melia replied, a small smirk on her face.

"Argh! This isn't over!" the grunt snarled, as she ran away from the duo. Both Melia and Jonathan then walked up and hi-fived each other.

"Now that's what I call teamwork!" she told him.

"Yeah, had it not been for you and your high intelligence, we wouldn't have this awesome machine at our disposal." Jonathan replied.

"Now then, we need to make our way to the lake. I've got a gut feeling that Team Xen's responsible for that large orb over the lake." Melia said, as the two trainers made their way towards the southern part of the lake. While on their way, they were stopped by a pair of Xen grunts, one male and one female.

"Eh…how you say…not so fast?" the male called out, in a thick Russian accent, causing the female to facepalm.

"Eli, it's not so fast. Not 'not so furst'…" the female sighed to him.

"Ah, I see. Thanks Shardon!" Eli replied.

"Eli, for the last time. It's Sharon, not Shardon!" the now named Sharon snapped.

"Eh, now I am confuse…" Eli said, as both Melia and Jonathan stared at each other, baffled looks on their faces.

"Are you fucking kidding me…?" Jonathan deadpanned to Melia.

"I think so. After all, truth IS stranger than fiction." Melia replied.

"Look, we don't have time for this. Just hand over Melia, or else!" Sharon demanded.

"Or what, you two morons will attack us?" Jonathan retorted.

"I'm not kidding around. Hand her over right now!" Sharon growled, retrieving a Pokéball from her belt.

"If it's a battle you want, then it's a battle you're getting." Melia replied, as she and Jonathan both got a Pokéball from their belt.

"Shardon is very scary when she mad…" Eli sighed, as he got a Pokéball from his belt. The four trainers then threw their Pokéballs, calling out their Pokémon. Sharon and Eli had a Solrock and Lunatone respectively, while Melia sent out her Togetic, and Jonathan sent out another one of Tandor's unique Pokémon. This one was a breathtakingly beautiful sea-slug, that was coloured blue and white, and had a pair of fins for arms, and had a frilly tail. The Pokémon also had a pair of large head fins, on top of it's head, above the eyes.

"Say hello to my Glavinug, a rare Pokémon that leaves ice crystals behind, whenever they swim." Jonathan introduced his Pokémon, whom smiled and took a bow.

"Huh? Where you get such Pokémon?" Eli inquired.

"It's a Pokémon that's exclusive to the Tandor region. I'd recommend a trip, but I don't want to give any ideas to Team Xen scum like you." Jonathan retorted.

"Alright then. Once we defeat you two, we'll snatch both Melia and your Pokémon." Sharon commented.

"Hah! We'll see about that." Melia retorted. "Alright Happiness, use Magical Leaf on Solrock!" The Togetic summoned a barrage of multi-coloured leaves, and hurled them towards the enemy Pokémon.

"Too easy." Sharon scoffed. "Solrock, use Fire Spin to protect yourself." The Solrock then spun around in a circle, creating a fiery vortex that incinerated the incoming leaves. This tactic surprised the duo, since it wasn't very common. Whoever they were, they were more competent than the previous grunts they encountered.

"Glavinug, use Reflect!" Jonathan called out, as his Glavinug crated a wondrous wall of blue light to decrease damage taken from physical attacks. He knew that he couldn't just go in and launch a reckless attack, so he figured that his best move would be to set up a defence.

"Uhh, Lunatone, use Harten." Eli called out.

"Harden." Sharon reminded him.

"Oops, I sorry…" Eli replied. "Use Harden!" The Lunatone then glowed brightly as it's body tensed up, increasing its defences.

"Is that the best move you got?!" Sharon inquired, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"But young man over there did the same. I just copy him." Eli responded, neither of them aware that Melia picked up on their weakness.

"Hey Jonathan." Melia whispered.

"You got an idea?" The young man asked, turning to face her.

"Their chemistry is out of whack, meaning that they aren't likely to use a combo attack. My suggestion is to take out the weaker of the two first." Melia continued, gesturing at Eli's Lunatone.

"That's a pretty great idea. I'm down for it." Jonathan replied, before turning to face the enemy. "Alright Glavinug, use Bubble Beam on Lunatone!" The Sea Slug Pokémon projected a torrent of bubbles at the Lunatone, dealing a lot of damage to it and sending it back a few feet.

"Now follow that up with another Magical Leaf, Happiness!" Melia called out, as her Togetic launched a barrage of multi-coloured leaves for a second time, sending Lunatone flying into a tree and knocking it out.

"Ah, Lunatone!" Eli ran up to his fainted Pokémon and returned it into it's Pokéball. "I sorry Shardon…" the man sighed, walking back to his partner.

"Looks like it's all up to me again…" Sharon sighed, a hint of frustration in her voice. "Use Rock Slide, Solrock!" The Solrock used it's psychic power to lift up a large boulder by the lake and floated it up in the air above Togetic and Glavinug, before crushing the boulder into lots of smaller rocks. Although the damage was reduced, due to the Reflect, both Togetic and Glavinug took a fair bit of damage respectively.

"Ok, we've got the upper hand now. This should make things easier." Jonathan commented. "Glavinug, use Bubble Beam on Solrock!" the young man called out. Like before, Glavinug projected a torrent of bubbles at the enemy Pokémon.

"Not this time, use Fire Spin again!" Sharon retorted, as Solrock began spinning rapidly and used the fiery vortex to block the incoming bubbles. Both sides were continuing their attacks for around a minute, before they both stopped and panted for breath.

"Perfect! Happiness, use Dazzling Gleam!" Melia seized the opportunity for attack. Togetic emitted a bright, rainbow shine around it's body, and sent the beams towards the Solrock, sending it flying into the same and knocking it out.

"Tch, return." Sharon muttered, before she turned and glared at Eli. "Well this didn't go to plan."

"Ohah no…we lose." Eli whined.

"Of course we lost! We were supposed to improve our teamwork before going out on this assignment. That way, we could implement combo moves like those two did!" Sharon ranted, pointing at Melia and Jonathan, whom stared at the arguing duo.

"Shall we leave these two idiots to themselves?" Jonathan suggested.

"That would be preferable." Melia replied, as the duo walked away, leaving Sharon and Eli to argue among each other. A few minutes of walking later, Melia and Jonathan finally reached the southern part of the lake, and spotted a figure that was a lot different from the Xen grunts. The figure was a tall, stocky man, with spiky blonde hair. He wore a greyish-black coat with a blue undershirt, and a matching pair of trousers. The man didn't take his gaze away from the large orb hovering over the lake.

"I think this guy's their leader. We just gotta move quietly…" Jonathan whispered, only for a deep voice to silence him.

"Going somewhere?" the sinister man called out, his gaze still focused on the orb. He then turned around slowly and noticed both Melia and Jonathan. "Funny, I don't recall asking for an escort."

"Ha-ha. That was so hilarious…" Jonathan deadpanned, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I suppose I should thank you. You saved me the trouble of searching the forest for the girl." The man commented.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?!" Melia demanded an answer, causing the man to raise his hands.

"Whoa there, no need to get feisty." He replied, in an attempt to calm her down. "That aside, I am Zetta, and I believe it's time for our pickup/delivery, Melia."

"No need to get feisty?! You're trying to kidnap me, and you have the gall to tell me to calm down?!" Melia shouted in anger. "Why do you want to take me anyway?" Zetta was unaffected by Melia's ranting.

"Listen, we have two ways to do this. The easy way, or the waste of time way." The tall man smirked. "Either way, it's going to end in your defeat."

"Our defeat? Do you even know who we are? I am Melia, and this is Jonathan." She told Zetta, while pointing to Jonathan. "I'm next in line to becoming a Gym Leader, and Jonathan has some powerful Pokémon from a region I doubt you've heard of."

"So he's the kid with the Tandor Pokémon, am I right?" Zetta asked, surprising the two trainers.

"No way! How do you know about where they came from?!" Jonathan gasped, causing Zetta to smirk.

"And why would I tell you that?" he replied. "Besides, I can still crush the both of you with ease."

"Oh really? And how do you plan to do so?" Jonathan scoffed at the idea of getting bested by some Xen thug. Zetta then chuckled loudly, before gesturing to the large orb over the lake.

"You see this ball of energy behind me? Time to educate you two, before I send one of you to the hospital." Zetta said, as he cleared his throat. "This is a Dimensional Rift, a multipurpose ball of dark energy, created from the energy of the twisted dimensions of in-between. They have multiple purposes, such as transportation, destruction, and repelling pesky trainers. It only takes a simple sacrifice to ignite the dark energy, such as the entire Magikarp population of this lake." Zetta explained, as the ball then began to glow harshly, and descend onto the lakes surface, where it transformed into a monster of terrifying proportions. In front of the three trainers was a colossal Gyarados that was pitch black and had blood red eyes. It growled at the humans before it, sending shivers down Melia's and Jonathan's spines.

"What…IS THAT UNHOLY ABOMINATION?!" Jonathan screamed in fear, his eyes wide open.

"Say hello, to my gigantic friend!" Zetta jeered. "This thing will be the one who will send you to an early grave. But before I do so, I'll need to weaken Melia in order to make kidnapping her easier." Zetta got a Pokéball from his belt.

"Alright then, I'll teach you not to mess with me!" Melia declared, as she sent out her Dodrio, with Zetta sending out a Murkrow in response.

"Ha! This'll surprise you. Murkrow, use Wing Attack!" Zetta sneered. Murkrow took to the sky and charged at Dodrio, its wings glowing brightly.

"It'll take more than that to surprise me." Melia retorted, as Dodrio dodged the attack with ease and used Fury Attack on Murkrow, repeatedly jabbing the small bird with it's three sharp beaks.

"Break out of there and go for another Wing Attack!" Zetta yelled out loud. The Darkness Pokémon freed itself from Dodrio's barrage and attempted to strike the Triple Bird a second time with its wings.

"Do you really think I'd let you land a hit on my Dodrio?" Melia asked a rhetorical question. "Use Tri-Attack!" Dodrio proceeded to open its mouths and charge up a ball of energy in each one. A few seconds later, the balls of energy combined to form a triangle, as Dodrio launched it at the Murkrow, knocking it out of the sky and crashlanding on the ground.

"Return…" Zetta muttered, returning his fainted Pokémon, before reaching for another Pokéball. "Use Ice Punch Sneasel!" the Xen commander called out, as his Sneasel hopped out the Pokémon and ran up to Dodrio, it's fist covered in ice. It punched the Dodrio with it's frozen fist, pushing it back a few feet and dealing a decent amount of damage.

"Dodrio! Are you alright?" Melia asked her trusted companion, whom nodded with its heads in response. "Alright then, use Jump Kick~" Dodrio then ran at the Sneasel before jumping into the air and aiming it's leg at the Sharp Claw Pokémon, landing a direct hit and sent the Pokémon flying a few feet back. Zetta gasped in surprise when he saw that the Sneasel was knocked out in one hit.

"Argh! You're better than expected." Zetta complimented. "But see how you fare against my Shadow Duskull!" the man called out, releasing his Shadow Duskull. The Requiem Pokémon laughed in an ominous tone.

"Another Shadow Pokémon? Quick, Jonathan, charge up a Pokéball!" Melia called out, tossing the young man another empty Pokéball.

"You got it!" he replied, holding it in the Snag Machine.

"Alright Duskull, use Shadow Wave!" Zetta called out, as the Duskull emitted a wave of dark energy at the Dodrio, dealing massive damage and sending it flying a few feet, knocking it out.

"You did well Dodrio, take a nice rest…" Melia informed it, returning it into its Pokéball, before sending out her Togetic. "Alright Happiness, use Dazzling Gleam!" The Togetic shone with a rainbow-coloured aura, and projected the rays of light at the Duskull, dazzling the Duskull and dealing a fair bit of damage.

"You're getting on my nerves…" Zetta growled. "Duskull, use Shadow Wave again!" The Duskull emitted another shadowy wave and sent it towards Togetic. The attack landed, but strangely it didn't do as much damage as before. The Duskull then entered Hyper Mode, the Requiem Pokémon moaning in pain. "Argh! Not Hyper Mode!" Zetta snarled.

"Huh? Why didn't Shadow Wave do much against Togetic?" Jonathan interjected.

"I don't know, but now's not the time to answer. Throw the Pokéball!" Melia ordered. Jonathan nodded and threw the Pokéball at the weakened Shadow Duskull, capturing it. The Pokéball jiggled violently for a few seconds before the light died down, indicating a successful capture.

"Hmph, this was surprising." Zetta snorted, as Melia retrieved the Pokéball and tucked it in her bag.

"And you were so confident that we were going to lose. Guess the joke's on you now!" Jonathan jeered, outing his hands on his hips. Zetta simply laughed the young man's joke off.

"Ha! You think that you've won, but I still have a trick up my sleeve…" the Xen commander replied, gesturing to the behemoth of a Gyarados behind him.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Ehehehehehe…" Jonathan laughed uneasily, scratching the back of his head.

"This may be a deviation from the plan, but Madelis should be pleased nonetheless." Zetta said to himself. "Dimensional Rift, deactivate yourself." On cue, the Gyarados disappeared and turned back into its large orb form.

"What are you planning Zetta?" Melia demanded, only to have her question fall on deaf ears.

"Now Dimensional Rift, absorb Jonathan and gain his powers!" Zetta ordered, as the orb began to generate a powerful vacuum, lifting the young man off the floor.

"OH SHIT!" Jonathan shouted, as he was getting sucked up by the orb. Melia ran up to him in an attempt to rescue him, but was unsuccessful.

"No, Jonathan!" Melia cried out, as the young man disappeared from view and was sucked up into the Dimensional Rift.

"Now that worked like a charm, I should have done that from the beginning." Zetta smiled. "Now where were we…?"

 **Meanwhile…**

Jonathan had ended up in what could only be described as a realm of chaos and madness. The usually golden leaves were replaced with a blood red hue, with the grass being the same blood red as well. The river was also blood red, with several Magikarp flopping around by the river side. The sun was blocked out by angry-looking black clouds. The young man got up off the grass and stretched his back.

"Welp…time to go save some Magikarp." He said to himself, as he began the tedious, but rewarding process of pushing the Magikarp back into the river. The process took between 60-90 minutes, with Jonathan saving a lot of Magikarp, though some of them had perished before he could save them. Once the last Magikarp was back into the river, Jonathan wiped the sweat off his brow and began thinking of a plan.

' _Maybe I should follow the stream to find a way out of here…'_ he thought to himself, as he shrugged his shoulders and began walking downstream. After a few minutes, the young man arrived at the large lake, where he and Melia encountered Zetta and his Dimensional Rift.

"Now what am I supposed to do?" he asked himself, before a large rumbling startling the young man. He looked over the lake and saw the large orb from before, as it collided with the water's surface and transformed into the massive Gyarados from before.

"Aw shit, I have to fight this thing, don't I?" Jonathan asked a rhetorical question, as the Gyarados bellowed loudly. "Alright, by the time I'm finished with you, you'll be dead meat. Go Yatagaryu!" Jonathan sent out the majestic Stormbringer Pokémon, whom stared at the Gyarados with a baffled look.

"It's a Gyarados corrupted by some twisted energy, but it's no match for you." Jonathan told it, bolstering the Yatagaryu's confidence. The gigantic Gyarados then charged up a massive beam and fired it at the Yatagaryu, whom narrowly dodged it.

"Whoa! Now that was a massive Hyper Beam." Jonathan noted. "Luckily for us it needs to—Huh?!" he began, as the Gyarados didn't look exhausted at all, and proceeded to charge up another Hyper Beam.

' _That thing doesn't need to recharge after using Hyper Beam. I better attack quickly before I get wiped off the surface of the planet.'_ Jonathan thought to himself, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. "Alright Yatagaryu, Thunder this thing into oblivion!" Jonathan called out at the top of his lungs. The Yatagaryu nodded and took flight, dodging the Hyper Beams from the Gyarados and charging up it's attack. After a few seconds, it unleashed the wicked bolt, dealing catastrophic damage to the Gyarados as it howled in pain. The creature then fainted into the water, as it began to slowly vaporise into thin air; Jonathan could hear a faint voice when the Gyarados disappeared completely.

" _Thank you…"_

Jonathan then congratulated his Yatagaryu and returned it into its Pokéball, before a question ran through his mind.

"Now what…?" he asked himself, as a familiar voice got the young man out of his stupor.

"Jonathan! Can you hear me?" the voice called out, with Jonathan recognising it as Melia's.

"Yes I can! Where are you?" he asked out loud.

"Follow my voice!" Melia asked him, as the young man saw a silhouette of her walking into the forest, towards the cave. Jonathan proceeded to run after her with haste, not wanting to stay in this hellish dimension for any longer than he has to. After around five minutes of running, Jonathan had arrived at the cave and confronted the Melia silhouette.

"Oh thank goodness, you're here!" Melia exclaimed. "Did…did you defeat the Gyarados?"

"I sure did. It was a real monster, but nothing I couldn't handle." Jonathan told her.

"That's wonderful! Just before Zetta was about to capture me, the Gyarados howled in pain and began to disappear. I took this opportunity to escape, as Zetta was too busy ranting about how something like this could happen." Melia informed the young man. "Any way, we have to leave this instant."

"Good idea!" Jonathan replied, as he and the Melia silhouette were surrounded by a bright glow. Once the glow subsided, Jonathan noticed that he was back at Goldenwood Forest, right in front of the cave. The young man was startled to see sunlight, and was startled even further when Melia gave him a big hug, causing the young man to blush madly.

"Oh thank goodness you made it out alright!" she smiled, releasing her grip on Jonathan.

"Uhhh…ehehehehehe…" the young man didn't know how to reply.

"Now then, we've got to get out of here. The last thing we want is for Zetta to find us and send you to another dimension. Happiness can use Alpha Metronome to teleport us to the Gearen Train station." Melia told him, as her Togetic began waving its tiny arms side-to-side, before all three of them were surrounded by a blue aura and were teleported away from the forest.

 **Gearen Train Station**

The two trainers and the Togetic were teleported to the Gearen Train Station, right in front of the old man from before, who was hugging his granddaughter.

"What a surprising appearance…but I can't complain. You did find my granddaughter after all." The old man replied, a large smile on his face.

"No problem. I assume the fisherman helped take care of her." Jonathan said, with the old man nodding in response.

"Oh yeah. Turns out that he was a police officer who wasn't on duty today." The old man commented. "Thank you so very much."

"You're welcome sir." Jonathan replied, tipping his fedora. "Now with that said, we've got to report back to Professor Jenner." The two trainers then left the train station, with Melia returning her Togetic. While walking their, Jonathan noticed a bothered look on Melia's face.

"Is everything alright?"

"Not really…I still don't know how Zetta knew about you and your Pokémon." Melia admitted.

"Maybe it was a lucky guess." Jonathan suggested.

"No, it didn't sound like a guess. Perhaps…" Melia said to herself, before a disturbing thought crossed her mind. The young women shook it off, not wanting to believe it. Eventually, the duo arrived at the Gearen Laboratory and quickly made their way into Professor Jenner's office. They entered the office, only for Melia to halt Jonathan instantly.

"Quickly, to the other side!" she whispered, as the two trainers proceeded to hide behind the walls leading into the corridor in the room. "There's someone here." The two trainers peered from behind the walls, and saw Professor Jenner talking to a mysterious woman. She had short red hair, and wore a grey and red dress, with matching coloured boots.

"You know, I didn't exactly appreciate you turning the monitor off while I was speaking…" the woman told Jenner.

"What else was I supposed to do?! They entered the room; my cover could have been blown!" Jenner retorted.

"Fair enough. However your recklessness was bound to blow your cover eventually." The woman replied, somewhat satisfied with Jenner's excuse.

"Why are you here, Madelis?" Jenner asked, surprising Melia and Jonathan. Didn't Zetta say something about a Madelis when Melia battled him?

"I heard rumours that the plan had went south. Madame X would be furious once she learns of this failure." Madelis answered the question.

"Wait, Zetta failed in his duties?! How did that happen? Surely he would have been able to defeat Melia easily. Unless…" Jenner exclaimed, as a thought crossed his mind. "Unless Jonathan had helped out Melia."

"Jonathan?" Madelis asked, an intrigued look on her face.

"He's a trainer who recently joined the Aevium League. He brought along some powerful Pokémon from the Tandor region. I informed Zetta beforehand, but I guess it fell on deaf ears." Jenner explained.

"How fascinating…" Madelis replied, before she got back on topic. "You better have not warned Melia beforehand of the plan. Just because we had you take care of her when she was a baby, doesn't mean that you should get attached to her."

"But…" Jenner began, only to get interrupted.

"Has the old man grown soft over time? You hand us Melia, and you'll be able to live your life the way it was before this all happened. Isn't that what you wanted after all?" Madelis said to Jenner, who was about to answer, when the duo were confronted by Melia and Jonathan.

"It's always been about you, hasn't it…?" Melia asked Jenner, a look of betrayal, anger and sadness on her face.

"Oh Melia, good to see you—"Jenner began.

"Save it! You have no right to say that! I heard every word." Melia snapped at the man who she saw as her father. Jonathan was tempted to say a few choice words to Jenner, but figured that it would be wise to let Melia handle the situation.

"Melia, I—"

"Save it! I was nothing but a chore to you, was I?! I'm not even your real daughter! How could you do this to me?!" Melia ranted, as a few tears fell from her eyes. "My life was nothing but a big lie. A big, godforsaken lie!" Madelis was busy gazing at the young man beside Melia

"So this is that young man whom Jenner referred to as Jonathan..." Madelis said to herself, unaware that he had heard her.

"That's right. And I'm not afraid of crushing the two of you with my Pokémon!" Jonathan informed Madelis and Jenner, his voice dripping with venom.

"Ha! It'll take more than boasting to best me in battle!" Madelis retorted. "But we'll save the battle for another time. Melia, won't you be a dear and come with us?"

"I'd rather die than go with you!" Melia called out, sending out her Togetic. "I'm sorry about this Jonathan, but I can't stay here. Happiness, teleport me out of here!" Togetic nodded and surrounded itself and Melia in a blue light, as the duo were teleported out of the building. Madelis, surprised by what she saw proceeded to call up Zetta on her walkie-talkie.

"Zetta, this is Madelis here. The target has teleported out of the vicinity. Suspected location is somewhere around Route 2." Madelis spoke into the device.

"Roger!" Zetta responded, as Madelis turned to face Jenner.

"Remember, we don't tolerate betrayal." The woman warned him, as she proceeded to leave the room. Jenner then gazed at Jonathan, intimidated by the trainers glare.

"Melia would have gone to Route 2. Find her and bring her back here. I need to talk to her." Jenner said.

"And why should I?! It's clear that she wants nothing to do with you!" Jonathan retorted.

"Listen to me. The reason I sent you to Goldenwood Forest was to help her." Jenner explained. But before Jonathan could reply, Ren burst into the room.

"Professor! I'm done with my assignment." Ren shouted, as he walked up to Jenner, before noticing the animosity between Jenner and Jonathan. "What's with the tension in the air?"

"Oh this just won't do!" a female voice called out, a hint of regal elegance in it. Suddenly, a rather intimidating Gothitelle appeared out of nowhere.

"Who are you?" Ren asked.

"To break any assumption, I am not a Gothitelle. It's my companion." The voice replied. "Now Professor Jenner, you've been rather naughty. I'll have to put you in time out for a bit. Is that fine? Because it sounds fine to me~" Before the older man could so much as scream, he was teleported somewhere.

"Now as for you two, should I do the same to you? Or should I practice mercy?" the voice asked itself. "I think I'll practice mercy."

"Oh thank you miss!" Jonathan replied.

"Listen, Jonathan is it?" the voice said. "Don't involve yourself any further with this. Following Melia would only leave you on a path to despair." The voice then disappeared, with the Gothitelle following suit.

"Ok, what was all that about?" Ren asked out loud.

"Basically, Melia is being pursued by Team Xen for some reason." Jonathan replied.

"What, Team Xen is after Melia?! We got to help her out!" Ren called out.

"From what they said, she should be on Route 2." Jonathan informed the lab assistant, whom ran out of the room at a quick speed. Jonathan sighed to himself; as much as he wanted to help Melia, he and his Pokémon were exhausted from the ordeal. Additionally, he had no idea what sort of powerful Pokémon, Zetta and Team Xen would have at their disposal. The best course of action was to train up his Pokémon, preferably by defeating Venam and obtaining the first Gym Badge of the Aevium League. Jonathan then left the room and made his downstairs, to heal up his Pokémon and rest in the lobby.

 **This chapter was a little longer than usual. Tune in next time, for the Gym Battle against Venam.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Previously, Jonathan and Melia confronted the villainous Team Xen, with the former learning about the power of Shadow Pokémon. Following a triumphant victory over the Xen admin Zetta, the duo learnt of Jenner's treachery, with Melia escaping to Route 2 in response. Jonathan then decided to get stronger by challenging Venam in a Gym Battle.**

 **Sorry for the long hiatus, I was just swamped with a lot of family related matters. I'll get back to writing this fic. Incidentally, Version 9 of Rejuvenation has just been released, so I highly recommend that you check it out.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, it is the property of its creator, SuperJanBro.**

Chapter 5:

Jonathan had stepped outside of the laboratory, and into the city once more. This time however, it was bucketing down with rain. The young man sighed and opened up an umbrella he bought from a small shop inside the lobby, and held it over his head, before proceeding to walk down the road. A thousand thoughts were running through his mind; _Who was the voice that teleported Jenner away? Why would Jenner work alongside Team Xen? What were Team Xen's goals, and what role did Melia and his mother play into the grand scheme of things?_ He was too busy thinking to himself to notice someone walking in the opposite direction, and the two people collided into each other.

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Jonathan called out, noticing that the trainer he bumped into was Venam. "You need a hand up?"

"Nah, I'm fine…" Venam replied, as she got up and brushed the dirt off her skirt and picked up her umbrella. "Next time, you better be more careful."

"I will; but there's something I need to tell you." Jonathan told her. "Melia's being pursued by Team Xen, and she's located somewhere on Route 2. I'm going to go find her—" he began, but was halted by Venam.

"Route 2…?" Venam said. "Tell me Jonathan, how many badges do you have?" the young man replied to the question by making a '0' with his hand. "Oh, this won't do at all."

"Huh? What does my badge count have to do with Route 2?" The young man inquired.

"Route 2 is littered with paths blocked off with rocks that can be broken easily. However to do so, you would need a HM for Rock Smash, and even then, you need one badge of the Aevium League to be granted authorisation to use the HM." Venam explained, causing Jonathan to groan to himself. HM's and Hidden Moves were a complete cancer that made adventuring a lot more complicated than it should be. He had hoped that the Aevium League ditched the useless pieces of garbage, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

"Ugh! You gotta be fucking kidding me…" the young man growled with himself.

"Look on the plus side, I'm a Gym Leader~" Venam quipped, in an attempt to cheer him up. "Heck, given the circumstances, I would just give you the badge here and now, but that's kinda against the rules…Gym Leaders honour and all."

"Heh, you got a point there." Jonathan replied. "So once we're done with the battle, you wanna help me find Melia?"

"Sure thing! She's my friend after all. But we gotta have our battle, in order for you to use Rock Smash." Venam smiled, before tip-toeing to Jonathan and leaning towards his face. "Besides, I've been wanting to battle you for a while now. A team like yours would be a challenge for my strongest team." She whispered.

"Alright then. So where's the gym?" the young man asked.

"Right near the train station. I'll show you the way~" Venam informed him, as the two trainers proceeded to make their way towards the Gearen City Gym.

 **10 minutes later**

The two trainers had arrived at a rather strange building that looked like a gigantic Seviper. The jaws were wide open, with two sharp fangs glistening in the rainy day, and there was a set of red stairs in the place of a tongue, leading up to a door.

"Now that's not something you see every day…" Jonathan muttered to himself, a surprised expression on his face.

*giggle* "Do you like it? It fits me quite well, don't you think?" Venam giggled, amused by the look on Jonathan's face. "I'll leave you to your gawking. See you inside, and make sure to give it your all, or else I'll never forgive you." Venam called out, as she walked into the maw of the Seviper Building, and entered the Gym. Jonathan shook himself out of his stupor and quickly followed Venam. When he entered the building, he was surprised at what he saw. The gym floor was covered by a large field of grass, which had several brightly coloured flowers that Jonathan hadn't seen before, as well as a decent side pond on the right side. Additionally there were a few statues littered around the edge of the battle field that depicted a Seviper. Venam stood in the centre of the field, a confident smirk on her face.

"So you didn't chicken out, good." Venam told him.

"You know I can't chicken out. Melia needs us." Jonathan replied, as Venam's face softened slightly.

"I know; I would have postponed the battle to go help her. But rules are rules, I have to battle you and give you absolute hell." The young woman said.

"Hell? I've already got sent to a dimension that may as well be hell, earlier today. I ain't scared of anything you throw at me!" Jonathan assured himself, a confident smirk on his face.

"Now that's the spirit!" Venam cheered. "Since this is your first time fighting a Gym in the Aevium Region, allow me to give you a couple of useful hints."

"Alright then. Thank you very much." Jonathan thanked the Gym Leader, tipping his fedora.

"First of all, all Gym battles are 6-on-6. Yes, even the earlier Gyms like mine. Secondly, every Gym Leader has a field that benefits their strategy. Take mine for example, it powers up Poison-type Pokémon and their moves, as well as intensifying the damage a poisoned-Pokémon takes. Finally, each Gym Leader has their own unique move. I would tell you mine, but that would ruin the surprise…" Venam explained, a faint smile on her face following the last sentence. Jonathan wanted this battle over quickly; every second passing meant that Team Xen are getting closer to capturing Melia. But at the same time, he wanted to enjoy his first Gym battle in the Aevium League. If only the circumstances were different.

"My life's fairly interesting, don't you reckon? Rocker by day, Poison Queen by night. Now that's the life for me." The young woman commented, as both trainers made their way to opposite ends of the arena. "But this shit's messed up. I have no idea what a bunch of those Xen creeps are chasing Melia."

"I have no idea a well. Maybe when we find Melia, we can ask her about it." Jonathan suggested, sorting through his bag and attaching six Pokéballs onto his belt and grabbing one in his hand.

"Yeah, we can do that. But we've got a battle to do, and I am ready to GOGOGOGOGO!" Venam cried out, as both trainers then sent out their first Pokémon, with Jonathan sending out his Vilucard, and Venam sending out her Qwilfish. Venam noticed an odd look in Vilucard's eyes, but brushed it off.

"I'll start things off with an Embargo!" Jonathan stated, as Vilucard summoned a series of spectral chains from it's wing and wrapped them around Qwilfish and Venam, before disappearing. "Now say goodbye to any items you were hoping on using." Venam gritted her teeth in frustration, she was at a disadvantage, due to losing her ability to use items.

"If I can't use items anymore, then I'll have to take you down! Qwilfish, use Aqua Tail!" Venam called out, as her Qwilfish swam up to the Vilucard and smacked it with it's tail, sending it a few feet back. However, the Vilucard chuckled ominously, as it's body disintegrated, and transformed into a completely different creature altogether.

"Wh-what's happening?!" the Gym Leader asked, as the mysterious Pokémon's new form revealed itself. The creature looked a lot like a cross between a swan and a parade float, with a thick red and white fur coat covering it's body. It's head and neck were half black, and half white, and had a few multi-coloured feathers on top of it's head, as well as a multitude of them creating a tail similar to that of a peacock.

"Allow me to introduce you to my Dramsama." Jonathan began, as the newly named Pokemon began preening it's feathers. "They're a mysterious Pokémon that harvests the dreams of sleeping people for nourishment. Anyone who angers it will be put into a permanent sleep, where Dramsama proceeds to absorb the victim's soul and adds it to it's collection, as shown by it's tail feathers. Very few people are able to successfully form a bond with one."

"But what about that whole illusion thing?! I thought the Zorua line were the only ones capable of mastering illusions." Venam exclaimed, still a little shocked over the whole reveal.

"I'll give you that; the Zorua used to be the only KNOWN Pokémon to have Illusion. However, now that Tandor's Pokémon have become common knowledge throughout the major regions, more people now know the power of Dramsama." Jonathan continued. "Now then, use Psychic!" the Dramsama's eyes glowed a harsh blue, as Qwilfish was subsequently surrounded by a blue aura that restricted it's movements. Qwilfish desperately tried to break free by flailing all about, but to no avail. Dramsama then lifted it's head up, causing the Qwilfish to follow suit and was moved into the air by the Masquerade Pokémon's telekinetic powers. With a quick flick of the head, Dramsama sent the Qwilfish flying into a wall, dealing a lot of damage to it. Dramsama then freed the injured Qwilfish from it's mental grasp, and chuckled ominously, sending shivers down Venam's spine.

Venam knew that she was a strong girl, who wasn't one to cower in fear…but this Pokémon has her questioning that train of thought. Whereas Vilucard's laughter was that of a mischievous being that played pranks, Dramsama's laugh sounded like something out of a horror movie, as if the creature before her was a malevolent spirit. Her Qwilfish managed to limp itself back into the pong and sawn in a little circle, indicating that it was able to fight on.

"Alright Qwilfish, use Pin Missile on that creepy Pokémon!" Venam ordered, as her Qwilfish took in water and inflated to three times it's size, before firing a volley of sharp needles at Dramsama.

"Awww, don't hurt my darling's feeling by calling it creepy. Perhaps I should punish you by having Dramsama use Shadow Ball." Jonathan replied, feigning a look of sadness. The Dramsama charged up a ball of ghostly energy and fired it at the Qwilfish, destroying the Pin Missile barrage on the way. The Qwilfish was struck by the Shadow Ball and was send flying through the pond, before hitting a wall. When the dust cleared, it showed that the Qwilfish was knocked out.

"Ahh, return…" Venam called out, returning her Pokémon and turning to face Jonathan. "That…Dramsama is quite the frightening Pokémon."

"Hehehe, I get that all the time. You know, I battle a few trainers who thought that Dramsama would be a push over, based off of it's looks. Boy were they in for a nasty surprise." The young man chuckled. "A Pokémon that's both beautiful, and powerful. Why it reminds me of Melia."

"You're right about Melia being strong and pretty, but I doubt she's some Pokémon out of a nightmare." Venam replied, as she retrieved a Pokéball from her belt, and smirked to herself. "And I'll show it a real nightmare. Go Drapion!" Venam called out, as a rather menacing Drapion appeared on the battlefield and hissed at the Dramsama.

"Argh, didn't expect to see a Drapion. No matter, I can work around this. Dramsama, use Signal Beam!" Jonathan called out, as the Masquerade Pokémon formed a ball of bright blue and yellow energy, before condensing it into a beam and firing it at the Drapion. The attack landed and caused Drapion to hiss, however it didn't seem to be doing that much damage.

"Go for Night Slash, Drapion!" Venam called out, as the Ogre Scorp began scuttling at surprisingly quick speeds for a Pokémon of it's bulk. It's claws glowed with a black aura as it slashed the Dramsama, causing it to shriek in pain as it was sent flying into another wall and caused a lot of dust to appear. Once the dust had settled, both trainers saw that Dramsama was knocked out.

"You did well out there." Jonathan called out to the fainted Pokémon, returning it to it's Pokéball. "I must say that your Drapion is very powerful."

"Oh thank you." Venam smiled, as Drapion scuttled back to its trainer. "But don't think flattery will get you anywhere."

"I know, I just figured I'll try at least." The young man cracked a smile. "But now it's time for you to see another one of my Pokémon. Go Glavinug!" he called out, as the Sea Slug Pokémon appeared on the field and dived into the water.

"Let's start things off with a Reflect, Glavinug!" Jonathan called out, as his Pokémon created a wondrous wall of blue light to bolster its defences. "How'd you like that?" he smirked.

"Attempting to increase your Pokémon's defences is a pretty nifty move…" Venam began, as her usual smile was replaced by a smirk. "Too bad it won't do any good here. Use Brick Break, Drapion!" she called out, as the Ogre Scorp Pokémon scuttled towards the Glavinug, it's right arm glowing a brownish-orange. It slammed it's arm into the Sea Slug Pokémon, dealing a fair bit of damage and shattering the blue wall.

"Ah, it knows Brick Break?!" Jonathan exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah, it does. I figured that I should teach at least one Pokémon Brick Break, to counter any Reflect/Light Screen shenanigans my opponent might pull off." Venam replied. "Now I'll follow up with a Poison Jab!" The Drapion's pincer glowed a sickly purple, as it attempted to jab Glavinug with it.

"Not today! Use Ice Beam!" Jonathan replied, as Glavinug fired a beam of pure ice at the incoming Drapion, dealing a fair amount of damage to it and freezing it. Venam huffed in displeasure over having one of her crucial Pokémon frozen.

"Tch, you got lucky there…" Venam said, returning her Pokémon. "But now it's time for the newcomer to take the spotlight. Go Trubbish!" Venam called out, sending out her newest capture. Jonathan gazed at the Trash Bag Pokémon, who proceeded to give a small glare to the young man.

"Venam…was this Trubbish one of the Pokémon that me and Ren fought at the sewers?" the young man asked her.

"Yep. I figured that I should catch one for myself." Venam admitted. "Now let's start things off with a Stockpile!" The Trubbish opened it's mouth and inhaled a lot of air, making its body grow larger and boosting it's defences.

"Two can play the same game. Glavinug, use Reflect again!" Jonathan called out, as his Glavinug created another wall of blue light. "Hah! How do you like that?"

"You can bolster you your defences, but I can break through them. Use Sludge Bomb Trubbish!" Venam ordered, as her Pokémon vomited a barrage of noxious balls of sludge at its opponent. The attack hit Glavinug, however it didn't do much damage, since the Trubbish was a fairly weak Pokémon.

"Heh, is that all?" Jonathan smirked. "Now Glavinug, use Bubble Beam!" The Sea Slug Pokémon unleashed a torrent of bubbles from its mouth and bombarded the Trubbish with them, sending it flying into a wall and knocking it out.

"Oh no, I should have trained Trubbish a bit more…" Venam sighed, as she returned her fainted Pokémon. "Hopefully my Drapion would have thawed out by now." She continued, as she sent out her Drapion again, the Pokémon still in its frozen prison. After a few seconds, the ice began to crack, before it shattered, freeing Drapion from the icy grasp. The Ogre Scorp Pokémon hissed into the air and locked eyes with its foe.

"Now Drapion, use Brick Break again!" Venam called out as her Drapion scuttled towards Glavinug and delivered another Brick Break, however this time it dealt massive damage to the Sea Slug Pokémon. Glavinug cried out in pain as it was sent flying into a wall and was knocked out from the attack.

"Return, Glavinug…" Jonathan recalled his Pokémon, as he was awe struck at just how much damage the attack did.

"Surprised, are we?" Venam giggled. "My Drapion has the Sniper ability, boosting the power of its critical hits."

"Damn, no wonder it hit so hard…" the young man replied, as he reached for his third Pokéball. "But can it hit my next Pokémon? Go Harptera!" he sent out his trusty Bug Pokémon, who immediately proceeded to flit in the air.

' _Man that thing looks fast, but at the same time it looks rather frail. A lucky critical hit should send it packing.'_ Venam thought to herself. "Alright Drapion, use Night Slash!" The Drapion attempted to slash its opponent down to the ground, but the Harptera dodged the incoming attacks with ease.

"It's gonna take more than that to defeat me. Use X-Scissor!" Jonathan retorted. Harptera's tail began glowing harshly as it flew directly at the Drapion and smacked the scorpion's face with its tail, causing the Drapion to fly a few feet back, before it was knocked out.

"Yes! Now that's what I call a critical hit!" Jonathan grinned proudly, as his Harptera did the same.

"Return, Drapion." Venam recalled her Pokémon, before gazing at the young man. "I've got to say, you're the first trainer who's making me work for a victory." She praised the young man.

"Why thank you." Jonathan smiled. "I assume your previous opponents were pathetically weak."

"Ouch, that's kind harsh bro. They just weren't prepared for their first Gym Battle being this difficult." Venam replied, as she took out her next Pokéball. "And I doubt you'll be ready for this next Pokémon; go Muk!" Venam sent out her next Pokémon, as it materialised onto the field. Venam's Muk was a brightly coloured assortment of green, pink, yellow and blue, as opposed to the dark purple usually associated with Muk. It has various white crystals protruding from its body, mouth and fingers, making it look like it has claws and teeth.

"No way! You have an Alolan Muk?!" Jonathan gasped.

"Well I did say that you wouldn't be ready for my next Pokémon, didn't I?" Venam cracked a grin. "Now Muk, use Crunch on Harptera!"

"Argh! Dodge it!" Jonathan called out quickly. The Harptera managed to dodge the attack easily, due to the large speed difference between Harptera and Muk. It was then that Jonathan spotted a few medium sized rocks on the battlefield. "Hey Harptera, why don't we go for a Rock Slide?" The Harptera flew over to one of the rocks and pick it up, as it proceeded to fly towards the Muk.

"How amusing…I think we should go for an Acid Armor, Muk." Venam suggested, with the Muk nodding in response. It then proceeded to absorb the toxic waste in the arena, and convert it into a tough coating that bolstered its defence greatly. The Harptera then shattered the rock it was carrying, causing the Muk to be bombarded with small rock shards, however the attack didn't do that much damage.

"Ahh, that's pretty clever of you to increase your Pokémon's defences while I was preparing for Rock Slide." Jonathan commented.

"Well when you're a Gym Leader in the Aevium region, you have to stay on your toes in the event of your opponent revealing their trump card." Venam replied. "Now use Gunk Shot!"

"Dodge and use X-Scissor!" Jonathan called out. The Harptera flew at the Muk, dodging the latter's powerful ball of garbage and striking the Muk with its tail, dealing some good damage. However Venam wasn't displeased by this; in fact she looked rather happy, as if the young man unwillingly sprung her trap. The Muks fist glowed a harsh black, as it slammed into the Harptera, sending it hurtling into the ground and knocking it out.

"Knock out?!" Jonathan spluttered, returning his Pokémon.

"From the way you used Harptera earlier in this battle, I predicted that you would strike hard before retreating to safety. So I figured I'd have Muk use Knock Off when your Harptera got within striking range." Venam replied, a smirk on her face. "Now send out your next Pokémon, so I can defeat it easily."

' _Ah, what do I send out? That Muk of hers is quite the powerhouse. Perhaps if I send out that Pokémon…'_ Jonathan thought to himself, before picking his next Pokémon. "I choose you, Drilgann!" he called out, as his next Pokémon materialised from its Pokéball. Drilgann was a large brown and purple mole, who had tusks and claws that looked a lot like a drill head, as well as a tail that looked like a drill head as well. It also had what looked like a purple mask over its eyes.

"Oh wow! Now that looks awesome!" Venam gushed, her eyes sparkling in awe.

"Hahaha, I figured you'll like it." Jonathan chuckled. "Drilgann can tunnel several miles a day without getting tired, hence why it's popular among miners."

"Wait…then that means—"Venam began, an uneasy look on her face.

"Yep! It's a Ground type, and I think it's time to shake things up with an Earthquake." Jonathan smirked, as his Drilgann began slamming it's forelegs into the ground, creating powerful seismic shockwaves that shook the field, dealing a lot of damage to Muk.

"Muk!" Venam called out in fear, as Muk got up off the floor and glared weakly at the Drill Pokémon. "U-use Gunk Shot." The young woman said.

"Use Dig to avoid the attack!" Jonathan retorted. The Drilgann used its drills to dig a hole through the ground, avoiding the Gunk Shot and proceeding to dig its way through the ground.

"Now where could it have gone?" Venam asked herself, as she carefully scanned the field, hoping to see a sign that gave away Drilganns location. A few seconds later, the young girl would get the surprise of a lifetime when Drilgann resurfaced and attacked Muk, sending the Pokémon flying several feet into the air, before it proceeded to fall back to the ground, knocked out from the attack.

"You did well Muk, return." Venam recalled her Pokémon, before reaching for her next Pokéball. "I choose you, Dragalge!" she sent out her fifth Pokémon, as the Mock Kelp Pokémon slithered into the pool.

"I must say, I've always liked Dragalge." Jonathan whistled. "A powerful, yet graceful Pokémon. Fits quite nicely into your team."

"Indeed, and I shall show you the power of my Dragalge. Use Hydro Pump!" Venam called out. The Dragalge used its snout to suck up a lot of water from the pool, before unleashing a massive jet of water at Drilgann, dealing a catastrophic amount of damage and sending the Drill Pokémon flying into a wall, knocking it out.

"Ah, return Drilgann." Jonathan shook himself out of his stupor, and returned his Pokémon. "Now that was one powerful Hydro Pump."

"I know, I've been training my Dragalge for a long time now." Venam smiled.

"Luckily for you, I have just the Pokémon to deal with that Dragalge. Go Yatagaryu!" Jonathan called out, as his ace Pokémon materialised onto the field and squawked at its foe.

"Damn! Now that's an intimidating Pokémon." Venam commented.

"Oh believe me, it's got plenty of power to back up its looks." The young man smirked. "Use Thunder on Dragalge!" he called out. The Yatagaryu summoned a wicked bolt of lightning, and aimed it at the Mock Kelp Pokémon. The Dragalge cried out in pain, as it took a ridiculous amount of damage, with a large explosion rocking the battle field. Once the dust settled down, it revealed that Dragalge fainted from the attack. Venam returned her Pokémon, a look of absolute shock plastered on her face.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Venam shouted out loud, surprised at how her Dragalge was knocked out in one hit, despite its impressive Special Defence. "HOW POWERFUL IS THAT THING?!"

"Yatagaryu is considered to be one of the most powerful Pokémon in the Tandor Region." Jonathan replied. "It's only natural that most Pokémon would get obliterated by its powerful Thunder."

"Argh! Looks like it's time for my ace to slither out of her hole. Go Seviper!" Venam called out, as her trusty Seviper appeared on the field.

"Your Seviper looks impressive, too bad that it won't be around her for long. Use Hyper Beam!' Jonathan called out. The Yatagaryu charged up a bright orange ball of pure energy, before converting it into a beam and firing it at the Seviper. The Fang Snake Pokémon gracefully dodged the attack by slithering on the ground and diving into the tall grass. The Yatagaryu then flew down to the ground, in order to recharge after the attack.

"Now's our chance. Use Venam's Kiss!" the young lady called out, as Seviper slithered up to Yatagaryu and kissed it on the cheek, causing the Stormbringer Pokémon to start retching in disgust, as a purple hue appearing on its cheeks, indicating that it is poisoned.

"Venam's Kiss, what kind of move is that?" Jonathan asked, confused at what just happened.

"Remember when I said that the Gym Leaders have their own special move? Well Venam's Kiss is my move. It has a high chance of poisoning your Pokémon, which works out well for my strategy." Venam answered, a smile on her face. "Now use Venoshock!"

The Seviper spewed a noxious green liquid from its mouth, and drenched the Yatagaryu in it. The Yatagaryu shrieked in pain, as the liquid mixed with the poison in its system to deal a lot of damage.

"Yatagaryu!" Jonathan called out, concerned over his Pokémon's wellbeing. "Are you still able to fight?" The Yatagaryu nodded weakly. "Alright then, use Dragon Pulse!" The Yatagaryu flew up into the air and charged up a ball of pure energy, before firing it at the Seviper.

"Use Sludge Bomb, Seviper!" Venam called out in desperation, as the Seviper launched a barrage of sludge at the Yatagaryu. The two attacks collided mid-air and both Pokémon attempted to out power the other. Eventually, the Yatagaryu gained the edge and got the power boost it needed to overpower the Sludge Bomb, dealing a lot of damage to Seviper and sent it flying into a wall. When the dust settled, it revealed that Seviper was knocked out.

"Thanks for all your hard work Seviper. You take a nice rest now." Venam recalled her Pokémon.

"Yeah, you too Yatagaryu." Jonathan recalled his Pokémon.

"I've got to say, you're quite the impressive trainer. It's been a while since I had a battle that intense." Venam smiled, before her face took a more serious appearance. "Ren told me about the dangers that will be encountered on this quest. Are you really up to the challenge?"

"Yes Venam, I will do anything in my power to ensure Melia's safe return." Jonathan declared. A smile graced Venam's lips, upon hearing the answer.

"Now that's the answer I'm looking for!" Venam replied. "Since you did beat me, I guess I should give you the Poison Heart Badge." She walked over to the young man and handed him a badge. It was a dark purple badge, in the shape of a love heart, and had a few flairs around the edge.

"Thanks Venam!" Jonathan thanked the young lady, as he inserted the badge into its designated socket on the trainer card.

"Now come on Jonathan, we're going to meet Ren at the Train Station, so we can all go together to the Amethyst cave." Venam told him. "But let's heal up our Pokémon before we go, just in case we encounter those Team Xen creeps." The two trainers proceeded to leave the building together, in order to help their friend Melia escape Team Xen's clutches.

 **Done. That chapter took a fair bit longer than anticipated. I figured that I should upgrade Venam's team a bit, to make her more of a challenge. Tune in next time, where our heroes will explore Amethyst Cave, and put a stop to Team Xen's plans.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Previously, Jonathan had his first Gym Battle in the Aevium Region against Venam, to see if the former was strong enough to embark on the quest to help Melia. In the end, Jonathan reigned victorious and won the Poison Heart Badge.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, it is the property of its creator, SuperJanBro.**

Chapter 6:

 **East Gearen Train station**

Having healed up their Pokémon from the previous Gym Battle, Venam and Jonathan arrived at the train station, and saw Ren purchasing his ticket.

"Ah, so you're coming Venam." Ren commented, pocketing his ticket. "Glad to see that you're going to help us out."

"Yep, I'd do anything to protect Melia from those Team Xen freaks!" Venam declared, standing up straight. "I also convinced Jonathan to help us out."

"Well I was going to help you guys out from the get-go, but whatever you say." The young man replied, as he and Venam purchased their own tickets. Just then, an announcement spoke out through the speaker phone, stating that the train to Route 2 is going to be leaving in five minutes.

"Come on everyone, our rides about to leave." Venam called out to the two men, as the trio hopped into the train and took their seats. A few minutes later, the train began moving towards its destination. The three trainers began talking about what their plan was when they arrived at Route 2.

"Here's my idea, we all go together in a group, and make our way to Amethyst Cave, that way we're less likely to be ambushed by Team Xen grunts." Ren suggested.

"Nah, that's too slow. My idea is to have all three of us go our own separate ways, that way we can cover more ground." Jonathan proposed.

"I can't say I agree with your idea. While we will cover more ground, Melia's most likely going to be in the cave itself. Why bother splitting up at the route, when we can just split up in the cave?" Venam argued against the plan.

"For all we know, Melia could be hiding out in the forest, and we all assumed that she'll be inside the cave." Jonathan countered. "It seems like something she would do."

"You're not adding Team Xen into the equation. If Melia said that she'll be hiding in the cave, I doubt that Team Xen would believe her statement 100%. They'll most likely have some grunts comb the forest just to be on the safe side." Ren added. "Remember that Team Xen aren't just some ordinary organisation, they have some serious connections and powerful Pokémon."

"I know, I saw their Shadow Pokémon…" Jonathan replied.

"Shadow Pokémon?" Venam inquired.

"From what Melia told me, Shadow Pokémon are Pokémon who have had the doors to their heart closed off, effectively turning them into emotionless, killing machines." Jonathan explained.

"Exactly, which is why we can't split up." Ren stated.

"Are you forgetting the fact that Venam's a Gym Leader, and I'm a skilled trainer?" Jonathan inquired.

"N-Not at all. I was just stating that it's best if we stuck together." Ren replied.

"Look, Jonathan raises a fair point. We're all powerful trainers here." Venam supported Jonathan's argument. Just then the built-in speaker announced that the train had arrived at its destination.

"Well we're here. I'm going to hop out and stretch my legs." Ren said, hopping off his seat and exiting the train.

"Listen, I'll keep Ren company, since out of the three of us, he's the weakest link." Venam whispered, as she handed Jonathan a Technical Machine. "I almost forgot to give you the Rock Smash TM."

"Ah, thanks Venam." Jonathan replied, as the duo exited the train and followed Ren. Once the three trainers were reunited, Venam offered a proposal.

"Here's my idea, I'll go with Ren and Jonathan can go on his own. We'll all meet up at the entrance to Amethyst Cave, once we're done searching the forest." Venam suggested.

"I'm fine with that." Ren replied. "I guess this is where we part ways for the moment." Both Venam and Ren proceeded to head east of their location, while Jonathan looked around the place. Route 2 was full of cherry blossom trees that were in full bloom, as well as bright pink grass growing at the base of the tree. He spotted what looked like a small path that headed north of his current location.

"I guess that's the way I'm going" he mused to himself, as he proceeded down the pathway. A few minutes later, he was walking down the path, when he heard a woman's voice echoing from the treetops.

"Look out below!" she called out, as she jumped out of the tree. Jonathan didn't even have the time to scream, before he was pushed to the ground and subsequently crushed.

"Oh, sorry about that!" the girl replied, as she hopped off of Jonathan and helped him up. The girl was quite cute, with her bright blue eyes, chocolate coloured skin, and very long black hair that reached the back of her knees. Her outfit consisted of a long-sleeved purple shirt that was a couple of sizes too big for her frame, and a matching coloured pair of pants.

"Ahh, why'd you do that?!" Jonathan exclaimed, a little pissed off.

"You have to watch where you going next time~" the girl replied, a playful smile on her face.

"Watch where I'M going?! You're the one who thought it would be a brilliant idea to jump out of a godforsaken tree!" the young man ranted.

"Ah gee, look at the time. I gotta get going. See you." She smiled, as she skipped down the path.

"What is with this region?! The asshole to good people ratio must be off the charts." Jonathan muttered to himself, as he checked is pockets to see if he still had everything. He soon checked his wallet and discovered that at least 5,000 Pokédollars was missing.

"That mother—"Jonathan growled to himself, as he ran down the path in the hopes of catching up to the thief. After a few minutes of running, the young man eventually caught up to the girl, who was busy staring at a rather large rock blocking the stairway.

"Hmmm…what to do in this situation…" she mused to herself, aware that the young man had caught up to her.

"You can start by giving me my money back." Jonathan suggested, as the young girl turned around and saw him standing a few feet in front of her. The young girl giggled, as she was enveloped in a purple aura, before disappearing from his sight. "Now where'd you go?!"

"Sorry dude, but you gonna need Rock Smash if you wanna catch me." She replied, rematerializing behind the rock and started running up the stairs and back onto the path.

Jonathan sighed to himself and called out his Drilgann, whom reared its forelegs and let out a small bellow. "Please smash that rock over there." He pointed to the rock. The Drilgann revved up its tusks and charged at the rock, shattering it into hundreds of tiny pieces. The young man thanked his Pokémon and recalled it, running up the stairs in hot pursuit.

It was around five minutes later, that Jonathan confronted the girl again, only this time she was standing at the bottom of another set of stairs, this one leading to a fairly sizable lake, with a bridge running over it.

"Ha! How do you like that?" Jonathan asked. "Now give me back my money!"

"Oh…you managed to make it past the rock." The girl replied. "Well you've got to admit that this little game of cat and mouse is pretty exciting. I reckon it's about time you were slowed down a bit more." She sent out a Solrock and ordered it to use Rock Slide, as the Sun Pokémon used it's telekinetic powers to lift a boulder into the air and crush it, showering the stairway with lots of little rocks. The girl then recalled her Pokémon and skipped away, giggling all the way.

"Oh come on! Must you make things this difficult?!" Jonathan complained, as he walked down the stairs extra carefully, making sure not to step on a rock and fall face first to the ground. The arduous task took ten minutes, giving the girl a generous head start. Once he had reached the bottom, the young man immediately ran down the path, making sure not to bump into anyone else who was minding their own business. He began to run on the bridge, when he spotted something in the distance. Walking a bit closer to it, he was surprised to see that the thing was a small tree, growing right in the middle of the pathway

"Ok, now what?" he asked himself, as he cautiously walked up to it, anticipating it to be some sort of trap. Just then he heard what sounded like a Pokémon cry, coming from the strange tree. Right after that, the tree began moving on it's own, going straight down for about 50 meters, before making a right turn and continued moving.

"Moving trees, just the thing this crazy region needed." Jonathan muttered, as he proceeded to follow it, in the belief that it would lead him to the thief. A few minutes later, the young man stumbled upon quite the curious scene. A large group of Kricketot were dancing and playing before a large rock, with a Flabébé standing before them and dancing alongside them. It was as if the former were attempting to mimic the latter, anyway they can. Past the Pokémon dance session, the young man spotted the all-too familiar tree and briskly walked up to it.

"Photosynthesis…Photosynthesis. I am just…an ordinary tree…taking part in…photosynthesis." The tree replied. At this stage, Jonathan knew that the tree was fake and began gently poking it, hoping to get a rise out of it.

"Do you like looking at trees all day? Do you get a kink out of it?" the tree questioned it.

"Why yes, I do get a kink out of looking at trees. But I like touching them even more…" he replied, playing along with the joke, as he began caressing the trees leaves.

"Dude! Stop touching me, you creepy guy!" the tree demanded. "Bah, screw it all." There was a sudden flash of light, temporarily blinding the young man. When he had regained his vision, he saw the girl standing directly where the tree was.

"I got you cornered now." Jonathan commented. "Now give me back my money, now!"

"You're persistent…I like that." The girl smiled. "But if you want your money back, you'll have to catch me." The girl then enveloped herself in a bright light, and teleported away from the spot.

"Fantastic…now I'll never get my money back…" Jonathan spat out. "Oh well, I got more important things to deal with. Time to head to Amethyst Cave." With that, the defeated man began making his way to his destination. While walking, he spotted a tall mountain poking out of the forest, with what looked like a small entrance to its inner sanctums. It was pretty obvious that this was the cave that he believed Melia was hiding inside, away from Team Xen's ever persistent gaze. Making his way up the stairs to the cave, he was all but surprised to see a familiar face resting by the entrance.

"Wow! You got here far quicker than I anticipated." The girl called out, as she sat down on a medium sized boulder.

"Look, I really don't care about the money anymore, I've got more important things to handle." Jonathan replied. "Don't spend it all in one place."

"What are you talking about? I never took your money to begin with." The girl told him.

"But my wallet had been emptied out. Right after you jumped down from that tree." The young main pointed out, raising his voice a bit. It was at this stage that the girl giggled and walked up to him, before reaching for his ear, and yanking out something from behind it.

"Man, you're quite easy to fool. All I did was put this behind your ear, and watch the resulting chaos." The girl showed him the money, before handing it over to him. "The name's Nim. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Jonathan, and I'll admit that you got me…" the young man introduced himself, his anger replaced with a sense of confusion.

"Truth be told, I lured you here because I was interested in how you battled." Nim admitted. "I saw your Gym Battle with Venam."

"Oh really? Why watch that battle in particular?" Jonathan inquired.

"Actually, I watch trainers battle Venam almost every day, but I've never seen someone fight the way that you do. Your battle style is not only strong, but full of skill and sheer willpower." Nim praised the young man. "The fact that you used Pokémon that are rarely seen in Aevium only piqued my interest even further."

"Let me guess, you want to challenge me to a battle." Jonathan deduced, with Nim nodding in response. "Then why—"

"Why didn't I ask you? There's no sense of adventure in just asking someone for a battle." Nim answered. "Now it's time to set the stage!" Nim surrounded herself and Jonathan in a purple aura, before she teleported the two to an entirely different place. The duo had wound up in what appeared to be some sort of Psychic dimension, with a purple haze wafting over the area.

"This is where I train my psychic powers whenever I get the chance. I call this place the Altered Dimension." Nim stated.

"So how long have you been able to use psychic powers?" Jonathan inquired, intrigued by what he's seeing so far.

"I've been able to teleport myself here ever since I was a young girl. I should warn you that this dimensions boosts the power of my Pokémon." Nim explained, as she removed two Pokéballs from her belt and threw them onto the field, calling out her Solrock and Lunatone.

"A Double Battle eh? Seems you like to make things interesting. But don't worry, I'll make sure to return the favour…" Jonathan called out, as he sent out his Dramsama and his Vilucard. Nim whistled in awe at the sight of Jonathan's powerful Pokémon.

"Oh wow! Now they look like some powerful Pokémon. This'll be a great fight!" Nim called out. "Now Solrock, use Reflect! Lunatone, use Light Screen!" The two meteorite Pokémon created protective walls using their psychic powers, in order to bolster their defences.

"Going on the defensive, eh? Alright then, I'll play your game. Dramsama, use Embargo! Vilucard, use Foul Play!" Jonathan called out. The Dramsama chuckled ominously, summoning a series of spectral that wrapped themselves around Nim and her two Pokémon, preventing them from using items. Vilucard's wing glowed a sinister black as it ran up to Lunatone and smacked it with it's wing. However the attack didn't do as much damage as anticipated, even with the defensives walls factored into the plan.

"H-How?" Jonathan asked.

"The psychic powers in this field are so powerful, that they weaken Dark-type attacks." Nim answered. "Quite useful if I say so myself. Now Solrock, use Rock Slide! Lunatone, use Cosmic Power!" The Lunatone channelled a spatial power and glowed harshly, boosting its defences, while the Solrock summoned a large rock with its psychic powers, and shattered it over the enemy Pokémon, dealing a fair bit of damage to the both of them.

"Argh! Not bad, but it won't be enough! Dramsama, use Shadow Ball! Vilucard, use Drain Life!" Jonathan called out quickly. Dramsama created a ball of ominous energy and launched it at the Solrock, dealing a lot of damage. Meanwhile, Vilucard snuck up to the Lunatone and sunk it's fangs into the Meteorite Pokémon's rocky surface, draining it of its essence. Like before, the attack didn't do much damage, however it did its job of restoring Vilucard's vitality.

"Time to make things interesting. Lunatone, use Future Sight! Solrock, use Rock Polish!" Nim declared. The Lunatone temporarily closed it's eyes as it faced its opponents and predicted an attack in the future, while Solrock's body began to glow and sparkle, making it a lot more nimble than before.

"Now's our chance! Dramsama, use Shadow Ball! Vilucard, use Foul Play!" Jonathan called out. Dramsama created another ball of ominous energy and fired it at the Lunatone, dealing a lot of damage, Vilucard's wing glowed black again as it charged at the Solrock and managed to get a lucky critical hit, sending the Solrock hurtling to the ground and knocking it out.

"Ahh…talk about sheer power." Nim sighed, recalling her Solrock. "Luckily I have the perfect solution for the problem. Go Malamar!" she called out, as she send out her powerful Pokémon.

"Hmmm…a Malamar. This'll be interesting." Jonathan mused to himself.

"Indeed, things will get interesting once Malamar takes the stage." Nim began. "Lunatone, use Trick Room!" The Lunatone's eyes glowed a bright white, as the room was basked in an ethereal glow that twisted the dimensions of the space they were occupying. Both Dramsama and Vilucard cried out in shock as their movement was hampered by the twisted dimensions, while Malamar and Lunatone became a lot more nimble.

"Ah geez, this isn't going to be pretty…" Jonathan sighed, not looking forward to what was going to happen next.

"Yeah, things aren't exactly looking up for you. And they're just about to get worse." Nim teased, a small smile on her face. "Malamar, use Superpower!" The Malamar let out a mighty battle cry as it glowed in a harsh orange aura, and proceeded to tackle Vilucard, sending the Pokémon flying across the arena before crashing into the floor and knocking it out. The young man was dismayed when he saw that Malamar got even stronger after using Superpower, as opposed to getting weaker, and as if things couldn't get any worse, his Dramsama was struck by Lunatone's Future Sight attack, as the Masquerade Pokémon was assaulted by a powerful blast of psychic energy, before it to, was knocked out.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Nim grinned, ecstatic over knocking out two of her opponent's Pokémon in a single turn. Jonathan recalled his Pokémon and was thinking carefully about who to end out next. Glavinug was out of the question, due to Malamar and it's Contrary-boosted Superpower, as well as Lunatone whom he assumed would use Power Gem. Then there's the fact that the twisted dimensions of the Trick Room would only serve to hamper his speedier Pokémon. It then struck the young man; why not send out some of his slower Pokémon to gain the Trick Room's benefits?

"Alright then. Drilgann, Brainoar. I choose you!" Jonathan called out, as he sent out his next Pokémon. Both his Pokémon materialised out of their Pokéballs and let out determined battle cries. Nim gazed at the new Pokémon; she recognised the Drilgann easily, but the Brainoar was another thing altogether. The Brainoar was a large white catfish like creature with a pink fin that spanned the creatures back, from the base of its neck, to the tip of its tail, as well as a pink mouth and whiskers. The Brainoar also had a pair of stubby arms, which had pink fins on them as well. But the most striking feature was that the creature's brain was visible from what looked like a protective glass dome on the catfish's head.

"I take it from your expression that you haven't seen my Brainoar before?" Jonathan asked. "Brainoar are a highly intelligent creature that have the ability to use psychic powers. They're often called 'The Sage of the Sea', because of this."

"So you sent out your own psychic type Pokémon to benefit from the field bonus? Clever move…" Nim praised the young man.

"Not just that, but both Drilgann and Brainoar are known to be fairly slow. Nothing wrong with that, especially if they can benefit from Trick Room. And I recall a certain someone using Trick Room…" he continued, a smirk on his face. "Now Drilgann, use Crunch on Lunatone! Brainoar, use Water Pulse on Malamar!"

The Drilgann barrelled towards the Meteorite Pokémon, it's speed heightened by the twisted dimension. It sunk it's sharp fangs into the Lunatone, causing it to groan in pain, before the Drilgann proceeded to fling it towards the ground, knocking it out. Meanwhile, the Brainoar summoned a ball of water from its mouth and launched it at the Malamar. The ball of water then turned into a spiral and struck the Malamar, causing it to spin around very quickly and became confused as a result.

"Oh man, talk about a comeback…" Nim commented, recalling her Lunatone. "Guess it's time for Meowstic to shine." She sent out her Meowstic, whose luscious white fur indicated that it was a female. "Now Meowstic, use Miracle Eye on Drilgann!" The Meowstic gazed at the Drilgann, her eyes sparkling in the colours of the rainbow, before a sudden realisation sparked in the Constraint Pokémon's mind.

"You may be able to hit my Drilgann now, but I won't give you such an opportunity. Drilgann, use Crunch on Meowstic!" the large mole barrelled towards Meowstic, baring it's fangs. However the Meowstic gracefully dodged the attack and retaliated with a Psybeam, dealing a moderate amount of damage.

"Argh, Brainoar use Calm Mind!" Jonathan said quickly. The Brainoar shut out all the noise from the battle, and began focusing on increasing its mental strength. A few seconds later, its mind was at complete peace.

"Malamar, snap out of confusion and use Superpower on Drilgann!" Nim ordered. The Malamar shook it's head to get rid of the confusion and proceeded to cloak its body in the same orange aura as before, and charged at the Drill Pokémon. However Drilgann dug underground in order to dodge the attack, and proceeded to stalk its opponents from underground. Both Nim and her Pokémon eyed the ground cautiously, waiting for Drilgann to strike at Malamar. However they were surprised when Drilgann arose from the ground and struck Meowstic.

"Now Brainoar, use Water Pulse on Malamar while they're distracted!" Jonathan called out. The Brainoar nodded and proceeded to create another orb of water, before firing it at the Malamar and dealing a critical hit to it. When the dust had settled, it showed that both Meowstic and Malamar were knocked out.

"Your power is such an inspiration to me…" Nim commented, as both trainers congratulated and recalled their Pokémon. "You may have defeated me this time, but I'll be victorious the next time we meet."

"Heh, now that's something I'll look forward to." Jonathan smiled.

"I'll warp you back to the entrance for Amethyst Cave, if that's alright with you." Nim said.

"I'd like that, thank you very much. I have some business there I need to attend to." Jonathan replied. Nim then surrounded the young man in a bright purple aura, as she teleported the young man to where she had promised him.

When the young man rematerialized, he was right where he and Nim had been chatting, before they battled each other. He shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to enter the cave.

 **This chapter may not have been that eventful, but the next chapter will be more intense.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Previously, Jonathan, Venam and Ren arrived at Route 2 and began their search for Melia. After an incident between Jonathan and a young girl by the name of Nim, the young man had arrived at his destination.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, it is the property of its creator, SuperJanBro.**

Chapter 7:

 **Amethyst Cave**

Jonathan had entered the large cavern and stared in awe at what he saw. The vast cavern was dimly lit by the sunshine coming in from small cracks on the ceiling, the bright light sparkling off of the small puddles of water littering the cavern floor. There was also an abundance of fist sized amethyst gems growing out of the rocky surface, giving the cave it's namesake. At the other side of the entrance, the young man saw Venam and Ren defeating a pair of Team Xen grunts and knocking them out.

"Phew! Now that was a close one." Ren sighed to himself, wiping the sweat off his brow and recalling his Pokémon. The duo then turned to face Jonathan, who was walking up to them.

"Hey, what took so long?" Venam inquired, gazing into the young man's eyes.

"Long story short, this young girl named Nim tricked me into following her, under the guise of stealing my money. I caught up to her, only for her to challenge me to a battle in some weird place where psychic type attacks dealt more damage. I ended up defeating her, and she warped me back to the entrance of the cave." Jonathan recalled in detail. Both Venam and Ren were unsure on how to respond to the story.

"Well…with your fascinating tale aside, we're going to confront Team Xen, and rescue Melia." Ren declared.

"We should split up for the moment. It's highly unlikely that these chumps will launch an ambush on us!" Venam called out with gusto.

"I don't mean to burst your bubble, but these Xen freaks are smarter than your average grunt. For one thing, they did launch an attack on the S.S. Oceana." Jonathan reminded.

"Well yeah…but I'm sure we can take them down without any problems!" Venam smiled, as the trio went their separate ways. After five minutes of exploring the dark cave, Jonathan was spotted by a Team Xen grunt.

"Well, well. Looks like we got ourselves a little kid, sneaking around where he shouldn't be." She sneered, reaching for a Pokéball on her belt.

"This 'little kid' has won a single badge in the Aevium League." Jonathan told her.

"One badge? Don't make me laugh. I have twenty badges!" she bragged, as she threw her Pokéball and sent out her Vulpix.

"In that case, I'll go for Glavinug!" Jonathan retorted sending out his Water/Ice sea slug. The Xen Grunt gazed at the Glavinug before scoffing to herself.

"That Pokémon looks pretty neat. I might take it from you once I win…" she commented. "Vulpix use Ember on that pitiful looking slug!" The Vulpix showered the Glavinug with miniature fireballs in an attempt to inflict a burn on it

"Dodge and retaliate with a Bubble Beam!" Jonathan responded. The Glavinug narrowly dodged the attack with finesse and launched a torrent of bubbles at the Fox Pokémon. The Vulpix cried out in pain as it was sent hurtling towards a wall and was knocked out from the attack.

"20 badges you say? Are you sure you didn't buy them off of some other trainer?" Jonathan jeered, as the grunt recalled her Pokémon and glared at the young man.

"I'll teach you to say such rubbish!" The Xen Grunt growled, retrieving another Pokéball from her belt. "Go, Shadow Vanillite!" she sent out her Pokémon, who materialised from it's Pokéball and growled at the young trainer.

"Oh boy, here we go again…" Jonathan sighed. "Use Reflect, Glavinug!" The Glavinug chirped in confirmation and created a wondrous blue wall of light, in order to weaken physical attacks.

"Not so fast! I'll have Shadow Vanillite use Shadow Shed!" the grunt retorted, as the Shadow Pokémon spewed a dark cloud that engulfed the Reflect and began to erode it gradually. However the Vanillite soon entered Hyper Mode, as the harsh black aura caused the Pokémon to cry out in pain.

"How can you just stand there, while your Pokémon is getting hurt?!" Jonathan demanded an answer.

"Oh, boo hoo! Shadow Pokémon are only useful as tools to defeat weak trainers. If they get killed in the process, then so be it, we can just create another Shadow Pokémon." The grunt sneered, angering the young man.

"You disgusting bastard!" Jonathan growled, as he began to charge up an empty Pokéball in his Snag Machine. "You just lost the right to any mercy. Glavinug, use Ice Beam!"

"Hah! What's your pitiful little Ice Beam going to do to my Shadow Pokémon?!" the grunt scoffed.

"Who said I was attacking the Vanillite?" Jonathan smirked, as his Glavinug fired a beam of freezing cold ice at the grunt. She cried out in shock as her feet and shins were frozen solid to the floor. Jonathan then chucked the Pokéball at the Shadow Vanillite in an attempt to capture it. The ball shook for around five seconds before the light died out, indicating that the capture attempt was successful.

"Y-you can't just waltz up and capture our Shadow Pokémon!" the grunt snapped, as Jonathan casually walked up to the Pokéball and picked it up.

"Give my regards to your boss when they find out about how you cost them a Shadow Pokémon." Jonathan replied, as he recalled his Glavinug and pocketed the Pokéballs before walking off. A few minutes later, he continued walking down the dark cave, when he stumbled upon a fork in the road that split into two different directions.

' _Ah great…just what we needed.'_ The young man thought to himself, less than pleased over the fork in the road. A familiar voice snapped him out of his chain of thought.

"Oi Jonathan, is everything alright?" Ren called out, as he caught up to the young man and began analysing the crossroads.

"Not really. As you can see, I'm in a bit of a predicament here. The bloody path has split into two, and I don't know which direction to check out." Jonathan answered.

"Listen, I have a feeling that Melia took the wrong path by mistake, and now she's being cornered somewhere." Ren informed the young man. "As for the branching paths, you'll take the north—"he began, but was interrupted by the sounds of a Bug-Type Pokémon chittering. The duo turned to face the cave wall, and spotted a Galvantula that was slightly larger than usual. The EleSpider Pokémon turned to face the trainers and gazed at them curiously.

"A Galvantula?!" Ren gasped in shock. "Why the hell is there a Galvantula in Amethyst Cave?"

"And this is a problem how?" Jonathan inquired.

"Galvantula are not native to Amethyst Cave." Ren informed. "Change of plans, you take the south, I'll take the north, Understood?"

"Sure…you go deal with your spiders, while I'll go find Melia." Jonathan retorted, as the two trainers went their separate way again. As Jonathan walked down the dusty path, he hid behind a couple of small rocks and spotted a few Team Xen grunts walking into another area of the cave.

"I hope they haven't zeroed in on Melia…" Jonathan wished, as he soon spotted the shadow of a tall man looming over him. The young man turned around and spotted another Xen grunt glaring at him.

"Well, well. Looks like we got an intruder snooping around where they don't belong." The grunt sneered, retrieving a Pokéball from his belt.

"If it's a battle you want, then it's a battle you're getting!" Jonathan declared, as he retrieved a Pokéball from his bag.

"Aron, destroy this weakling!" the grunt called out, as an Aron materialised out of the ball.

"An Aron, eh? In that case, I'll send out my Yatagaryu in order to end this battle quickly." Jonathan sent out his most trusted Pokémon, who materialised onto the field and let out a majestic, yet intimidating cry. The sight of the powerful Pokémon send chills down the grunt's spine.

"A-Aron, use Rock Tomb." The grunt gulped nervously, as the Aron rammed into a large boulder, shattering it and proceeded to hurl the smaller rocks at the Stormbringer Pokémon, whom had an uninterested look on its face.

*sigh* "Use Thunder…" Jonathan sighed at the sight of the Aron's pitiful display. The Yatagaryu took to the air and dodged the incoming rocks, before charging up some electricity and launched a wicked bolt of lightning at the Aron, dealing massive damage and knocking it out in one hit. The Xen grunt staggered back a few feet in fear, as he recalled his Aron and stared wide-eyed at the intimidating Pokémon.

' _W-W-What can I do against a monster like that?!'_ The grunt thought to himself, not realising that his hand had lightly grazed his other Pokéball. _'Ah yes…I think I have the solution to my problem.'_

"Well, are you going to hurry up and call out your next Pokémon? Or are you scared of the _big bad intruder_?" Jonathan jeered, infuriating the grunt.

"Grrrr, I'll make you eat your words. Go, Shadow Bonsly!" the grunt growled, sending out his Shadow Pokémon, whom glared at its enemies and growled. Jonathan gazed at the Bonsly cautiously; Baby Pokémon may be weak until they evolve, but at the same time, it was a Shadow Pokémon he's currently facing. He figured that the best course of action was to charge up a Pokéball in his Snag Machine and capture the Bonsly, since Baby Pokémon are quite easy to catch.

"Shadow Bonsly, use Shadow Rush!" The grunt barked. The Bonsly nodded and cloaked itself in a shadowy aura, before proceeding to charge at Yatagaryu.

"Dodge!" Jonathan called out, as his Yatagaryu dodged the incoming attack with ease. The Bonsly grinded to a halt and stared at it's opponent. However it didn't go into Hyper Mode for some reason, which confused the young man.

"Huh…why didn't it go into Hyper Mode?" Jonathan asked.

"Ha! Since you're a dead man, I guess there's no harm in telling you." The grunt replied. "Whenever a Shadow Pokémon uses a Shadow move, it cause the Pokémon to enter Hyper Mode which causes it a great deal of pain. However for some reason Shadow Rush is the exception to the rule. In fact, research has shown that Shadow Rush gets stronger if the user is in Hyper Mode."

"I see…I have to thank you for your time." Jonathan smiled, hiding a smirk.

"Huh, what do you mean?! You know that you will die here!" the grunt called out.

"You see, I needed a way to stall for time in order to charge up my Pokéball, and your little explanation was just the thing I needed." Jonathan smirked, as he threw the charged up Pokéball at the Shadow Bonsly and captured it. The Pokéball wiggled for a few seconds before the light died down, indicating a successful capture. The Yatagaryu roared at the grunt, causing them to flee in terror.

"Hahaha, good work on frightening that wimpy grunt!" Jonathan praised his Pokémon, recalling it into it's Pokéball before proceeding to retrieve the captured Bonsly and continuing down the dirt path.

 **15 minutes later**

Jonathan had entered a large, spacious cavern that was quite deep into the mountain. All around the room were large steel structures that were covered in electrical spider webs, with plenty of Joltik and Galvantula crawling on the webs, waiting for prey to stumble into the web. The young man then spotted something odd nestled between some rocks; some sort of small red crystal inside a steel box.

"Hmmm, I wonder what this could be…" the young man mused to himself, as he gently grabbed the crystal. A bright light illuminated the room as a warm, soothing feeling coursed through the young man's body. The light died down a few seconds later, with the warm feeling subsiding immediately afterwards.

' _Huh…why do I feel so refreshed?"_ The young man thought to himself. It was as if he and his Pokémon were completely healed as a result of the crystal. The young man shrugged it off and made his way to the other side of the room, where he spotted another Dimensional Rift being created by Zetta.

"Ah, it seems that you finally caught up to me." Zetta commented, his back facing Jonathan. "Though if I have to be honest, you would be the first one out of you three to confront me."

"Enough games! Where's Melia?!" Jonathan demanded.

"You've caused a lot of damage, boy!" Zetta retorted, ignoring the young man's question. "Not only did you destroy my Dimensional Gyarados, you stole my Shadow Duskull from me!"

"If anyone's causing damage around here, it's you!" Another voice called out. Jonathan turned around and saw Venam and Ren running up to the Xen admin.

"Yeah, for once I agree with Ren." Venam added, as the three trainers stood in line and stared down the older man. "We heard about how you and your cronies in Goldenwood Forest were foiled by the combined efforts of Melia and Jonathan."

"Hmph! You lot may run your mouth, but do you know what has happened here?" Zetta scoffed, crossing his arms.

"What are you talking about?" Ren asked.

"It seems that our efforts were in vain. I'm sure you've spotted the spider Pokémon who have made this place their home. While I was searching for Melia, I happened to find this…it's quite disturbing if I say so." Zetta spoke, as he dropped what looked like a blood-soaked bag onto the cavern floor.

"Wha…what is that?" Jonathan asked.

"Glad you asked. This bag happens to belong to Melia. I saw a Galvantula gnawing on it." Zetta replied, as the three young trainers were horrified at what they heard.

"No…NOOOO! This can't be true! Melia couldn't have—"Venam began, before she broke down in tears. "Melia, you can't die here!"

"NO!" Ren snapped, as he punched a rock and grazed his knuckles. "I refuse to believe this is true."

Jonathan was at a complete loss for words. He didn't want to believe what Zetta said, but the proof was irrefutable. The young man was devastated that he lost the chance to get to know Melia better, lost the chance to show her more of his Pokémon, lost the chance to—

"You all think you can just run your mouths at me, as if you have any significance." Zetta scolded the trio. "You're nothing but a bunch of foolhardy trainers who think they can make a difference in this world."

"We-we came to save her…this cannot be right! This can't be…" Venam choked out, before she resumed her sobbing and collapsed to the floor.

"And I came to apprehend her, but you don't see me with her, do you? Do you know what this means for all of us?" Zetta asked, showing little to know care over Melia's fate.

"Who cares about that?!" Ren snapped. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't of chased her down here, then she would be perfectly fine!"

"Why did you want her anyway?! You pushed her to the point of death, just to pursue your selfish goals! Not only did you kidnap my mother, but you took Melia from me, from all of us! I'll make you rue the day that you even crossed my path!" Jonathan declared, taking a Pokéball from his bag.

"I'll never forgive you for this, Zetta! I shall punish you right here, right now!" Venam declared, reaching for a Pokéball from her belt.

"Ha! You two think you can defeat me? I'll be glad to crush you!" Zetta smirked, as he sent out his Croagunk and Sneasel.

"This is one battle we won't lose!" Jonathan and Venam declared, as the two trainers sent out their Harptera and Drapion respectively. The four Pokémon stared each other down, as their trainers were planning out their first moves.

"Alright Drapion, use Brick Break on Sneasel!" Venam called out.

"In that case, I'll have Harptera use Aerial Ace on Croagunk!" Jonathan replied.

"Ha! So predictable, Croagunk, use Fake Out on Harptera! Sneasel, use Agility to dodge!" Zetta retorted. The Harptera darted towards the Croagunk and was about to strike, when the frog Pokémon retaliated by clapping the air and surprising the Dragonfly Pokémon momentarily, before Croagunk used its hand to slap it's opponent and pushed it back a couple of feet. Meanwhile, the Drapion scuttled towards Sneasel and was about to clobber it with its glowing claw. However the Sneasel dodged the attack as a breathtaking speed and proceeded to hop from rock-to-rock, before landing right near its trainer's feet.

"Ahh…I see he's improved. But it's not enough to stop me! Harptera, use Rock Slide!" Jonathan called out, as Harptera began flying towards some stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

"Drapion, wait for Harptera's attack to go through, before picking off any survivors with Aqua Tail!" Venam told it, as Drapion nodded and held it's ground, waiting for it's partner to finish it's attack.

"I won't let you do that! Sneasel, use Fake Out on Harptera!" Zetta ordered. The Sneasel began to run towards the wall and dug it's claws into the rocky surface, before proceeding to climb the wall at high speeds. The two Pokémon began racing each other to their destination. Eventually, the Harptera reached the stalactites and began chipping at them with it's tail. The Sneasel had reached the top and pulled it's claws out from the wall and jumped towards the Dragonfly Pokémon. However, the Harptera had successfully destroyed the stalactite bases which caused them to smack the Sneasel and send it hurtling towards the ground, as both it and the Croagunk were pelted by the fallen rocks. The Croagunk had wiped the dust away from it's eyes, before it was smacked by Drapion's tail, which was covered in a watery aura. The frog Pokémon cried out in pain as it was sent hurtling towards the cave wall. When the dust died down, it showed that both Sneasel and Croagunk were knocked out by the combo-attack.

"Hell yeah! Now that's what I call teamwork!" Venam cheered, as she hi-fived Jonathan. "Now are you ready to give up Zetta."

"Hngh! It's not over yet." Zetta growled, recalling his fainted Pokémon and unclipping two more balls from his jacket. "But it's time for you upstarts to be dealt with for good!" he sent out his next two Pokémon, which were a Quilladin and an Absol.

"Ha! They don't look so tough!" Jonathan scoffed. "Guess I'll put them out of their misery quickly, Harptera, use X-Scissor on Absol!"

"Drapion, use Poison Jab on Quilladin!" Venam added. The Harptera flew at blinding speeds, it's tail glowing harshly as it slashed the enemy Absol, causing it to cry in pain as it was sent flying into a wall. Meanwhile, the Drapion scuttled towards Quilladin, it's pincer coated in a highly toxic fluid. The Drapion proceeded to jab the Quilladin with it's pincer, causing the Quilladin to cry out in pain, as the venom invaded entered the Pokémon's body. A minute later, the Quilladin collapsed to the ground and fainted, it's body succumbing to the venom.

"Argh! Quilladin, Absol! Get up now!" Zetta ordered.

"It's too late. Your Pokémon cannot continue battling." Venam told him. "I suggest you give up and turn yourself in."

Zetta stared blankly at his opponents, before recalling his defeated Pokémon and looked down at his feet, before beginning to chuckle madly. His laughter grew louder by the second, which unnerved the victorious trainers.

"Ahh, you're taking your loss better than anticipated…" Jonathan said, as he and Venam recalled their respective Pokémon.

"You may have defeated me, but I've still got my friend behind me!" Zetta pointed at the Dimensional Rift, an insane grin on his face. "Now absorb this three pitiful trainers!"

The Dimensional Rift began glowing harshly and proceeded to create a powerful wind that lifted up Venam, Ren and Jonathan and began to suck the trio up.

"Not again!" Jonathan cried out, as he disappeared into the Rifts gaping maw, with Venam and Ren following suit.

 **The Dimensional Rift**

Jonathan groaned to himself, getting up off the floor and shaking the dust out of his hair. He can't believe that he was back in the same accursed place again, never mind that it was just after his first trip to the hellish dimension. This time it took on the appearance of Amethyst Cave, with blood red crystals on the walls, and the same red fog as before. He then saw his friends waking up and managing to get up off the floor.

"Ugh…where are we?" Venam asked, brushing the dirt off her skirt.

"We're in hell for all we know. This place is the Dimensional Rift that Zetta sicced on us." Jonathan answered. "I should know, I've been here before."

"Really?!" Ren exclaimed. "Was it when you and Melia were at Goldenwood Forest?"

"Yep." Jonathan replied. "However it was a lot different. That time, the dimension looked eerily similar to Goldenwood Forest. Here, it looks like Amethyst Cave."

"Do you think the change in area has to do with where the rift was created?" Venam pondered.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Ren answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Let's find a way out of here." The trio proceeded to explore the twisted dimension for a few minutes, before Venam spotted something odd.

"Hey look at that!" She called to the two men, as they locked eyes on what looked like a Joltik. However it's body was a dark grey, instead of it's usual yellow. It's eyes were also a dark purple, as opposed to their usual sky blue. "I wonder what's wrong with it…" Venam pondered, reaching out to touch it. Just when her fingertips grazed it's fur, the small spider disappeared.

"AH!" Venam cried out in shock, jumping back a few feet.

"Did you kill the thing Venam?!" Ren asked.

"I just touched the thing and it disappeared!" Venam replied quickly.

"Look, we can talk about this later. Right now we need to get moving." Jonathan halted the discussion, before all three trainers proceeded to continue down the dusty path. Around five minutes later, the trio arrived at a large room that looked identical to the room where they confronted Zetta. What they found rather strange was that there was a decent sized patch of grass at the back of the room underneath a fairly short cliff, with a couple of trees growing from both sides of the grass patch.

"What the hell is something like this doing in a cave?" Venam asked, as the three trainers studied the plant life before them. However they were soon interrupted by a loud chittering coming from behind them. They turned around and saw a massive horde of the grey-furred Joltik glaring at them.

"Yay, we're cornered…" Jonathan said sarcastically.

"Look on the plus side, things can't get worse from here." Ren commented. Immediate after he said that, the ground quivered and quaked as the sounds of large footsteps echoed throughout the cave. The trio turned around and spotted an absolutely massive Galvantula, coloured exactly the same as it's offspring, making it's way to the trainers and looked down on them from the clifftop.

"Uhh…my bad." Ren said sheepishly, as Venam and Jonathan glared at the young man.

"Don't ever say that things couldn't get worse. Things will always find a way." Jonathan scolded Ren.

"Ok, I am not going near that freaky thing!" Venam pointed at the Galvantula. "You've dealt with things like this before Jonathan, you go deal with it."

"Yeah, me and Venam will deal with the Joltik." Ren added, as Jonathan sighed to himself before climbing up the cliff to battle the Galvantula.

"Alright then, guess I'll deal with this Dimensional monster." Jonathan said, as he unclipped a Pokéball from his belt and sent out his Drilgann. Venam and Ren unclipped a Pokéball each and threw them, calling out their Seviper and Frogadier respectively.

"Now Drilgann, use Crunch on that overgrown pest!" Jonathan called out, as the mole Pokémon barrelled towards its foe and sunk it's fangs into the Galvantula's leg, causing it to shriek in pain. The Galvantula then amplified its shrieks to create an especially potent Bug Buzz, causing Drilgann to let go and wince in pain, as it covered it's ears to block out the noise. The Galvantula then upped the stakes by using Signal Beam, landing a direct hit on Drilgann and sent it flying back a few feet, knocking it out.

"Oh man, that hit harder than I expected…" Jonathan commented, recalling his Drilgann and reaching for another Pokéball. "Time to take the stage Vilucard!" the Villainous Pokémon materialised from it's Pokéball and began chuckling to itself, before it began staring at the towering Galvantula.

"I know it's massive, but you can take it out!" Jonathan supported his Pokémon. "Blind that thing with Sludge Bomb!"

The Vilucard leapt into the air and launched a barrage of noxious balls of sludge at the Galvantula's face, covering it's eyes with the sludge. The Galvantula shrieked as it attempted to rub the sludge off it's face, by rubbing itself against one of the large trees.

"Now's our chance, use Zen Headbutt!" Jonathan called out, as Vilucard's head was coated in a harsh blue before it ran towards the large spider and headbutted it's abdomen, causing it to cry out in surprise and fall down the cliff. The young man and his trusted companion hopped down the cliff and sighed in relief as he saw Venam and Ren defeating the Joltik with ease. However the Galvantula got back up on it's feet and charged up a powerful Electro Ball, before throwing it towards Vilucard.

"Oh no! Dodge—" Jonathan began, however it was too late as Vilucard was struck by the powerful attack and was sent hurtling towards the cliff, before crashing into it and was subsequently knocked out. "And we were so close to winning…" Jonathan muttered sadly, recalling his Pokémon, before he glared at the Galvantula.

"It wasn't enough that you took Melia from me and my friends, but to knock out two of my trusted friends?! I shall show you no mercy!" Jonathan growled at this foe. "Go, Frosthra! Send this thing into the next dimension!" the young man sent out his next Pokémon, as a large moth materialised from the ball and took to the skies. It was an extraordinarily beautiful Pokémon with amber-coloured wings, a pitch black body that was covered in a soft but thick fur, six legs that were also covered in the black fur, as well as amber coloured eyes and a pair of amber horns that rested above the eyes and curved downwards. Both Ren and Venam gazed at the creature in awe.

"Wow…it's so beautiful." Venam gushed.

"It looks quite powerful as well." Ren added. "Thank goodness I'm not facing that thing."

"Spot on you two." Jonathan replied. "Allow me to demonstrate its immense power to you. Frosthra, use Blizzard!" The large moth began flapping it's wings quickly, generating a powerful snowstorm that struck the Galvantula, causing it to cry out in pain, as it's entire body was slowing getting frozen. After a minute the EleSpider Pokémon was completely encapsulated in ice, with Jonathan gesturing Frosthra to cease the attack, before thanking it and recalling it into its Pokéball. He turned around and saw that Venam and Ren had finished battling the Joltik.

"Phew…talk about a serious workout." Venam commented, as she and Ren recalled their Pokémon. The three trainers then gazed at the frozen Galvantula, wondering if the battle was over. However they would receive the surprise of a lifetime when the ice began to crack, and the Galvantula escaped from its icy prison.

"It's not dead yet?!" Jonathan exclaimed in shock. "How could it survive that?" He reached for a Pokéball, only for Ren to stop him in his tracks.

"Look." Ren told Jonathan, as they saw what was happening. The Galvantula began to walk slowly towards the trainers, before collapsing onto the ground, exhausted from battling. It was clear to them that it could not continue fighting.

"Galvantula, I understand your anger. However, it's time to rest. Once and for all." A feminine voice spoke softly. It was one that Jonathan recognised; specifically the same voice that ordered the Gothitelle to teleport Professor Jenner. The Galvantula gazed at the empty space up on the cliff, as if to thank the mysterious lady, before it's body disappeared and it's spirit moving on from this world. The room was deathly silent, just like it was before the battle.

"So…I guess we did it." Venam broke the silence. "So now what do we do?" Her question was answered when the room began shaking violently, as the realm faded to black.

 **Amethyst Cave.**

The three trainers had arrived back to where they were before the whole ordeal regarding the Dimensional Rift began.

"Hey Zetta, your Dimensional Pokémon were no match for us!" Jonathan declared, as the Xen Admin turned around and was surprised at what he saw.

"No! How could you escape?!" Zetta growled.

"Hah, that was so easy dude. Is that all you got?" Venam taunted. "Seems that you're all out of cards. But we've still got some up our sleeves."

"You think you're so crafty? Well I may have lost this time, but next time—"Zetta began, before he was interrupted by the feminine voice from before

"As if they'll be a next time. Don't make me laugh at your pitiful jokes." She snarked, as she and her Gothitelle appeared out of thin air and stared down Zetta. She was quite the pretty girl, with wavy long black hair and bright green eyes. She wore a long-sleeved black shirt and a long, billowing, black skirt, with both articles of clothing decorated with various white ribbons, making her outfit resemble that of a Gothitelle. Quite fitting for her, if Jonathan said so.

"Who the hell are you?!' Zetta demanded.

"The name of this beautiful doll that has graced your disgusting presence?" She replied, a hint of contempt for the Xen Admin. "I believe the name Crescent shall suffice."

"Hah! Another fool who opposes Team Xen. I shall gladly crush you alongside these meddling kids." Zetta smirked, as Crescent turned to gaze at the three young trainers momentarily, before turning to face Zetta again and sighed.

"I believe it's time for an uneducated baboon like yourself to be caged up." Crescent told Zetta. "I grow tired of seeing you flop around as if you were worth anything."

"No! Get away from me!" Zetta demanded, as his arms were held back by Crescent and her Gothitelle, before the trio teleported away from the large cave. The three trainers were at a loss of speech as to what they just saw.

"It looks like we won the battle…but at what cost?" Ren broke the silence, as the atmosphere took a solemn turn.

"Damn him! Damn him! DAMN THAT WRETCHED GUY!" Venam shouted at the top of her lungs. "Melia was my best friend…and now she's gone…" she began sniffling, as Jonathan began to gently pat her shoulder.

"I feel your pain. I may not have known her for as long as you have, but I consider her a close friend as well." Jonathan empathised with her. Venam turned to face the young man, a small smile on her face as she lifted his hand off of her.

"Thanks dude…you're pretty cool." Venam replied, wiping her tears away. "I'm going back to Gearen to let Amaria know about what happened to Melia. Later guys." She proceeded to walk back towards the entrance.

"I'm going to pursue Crescent to get some answers." Ren stated, before he turned to Jonathan. "The next Gym is in Sheridan Village. I suggest you train in here for a bit before challenging the gym." He informed the young man, before he followed Venam out of the cave. Jonathan was on his own, as he stared at Melia's bag for a while before walking up to it. The bag was completely empty, with the exception of two Pokéballs and what appeared to be a key card. He analysed the Pokéballs and discovered that they contain the two Shadow Pokémon he had caught at Goldenwood Forest.

"Oh Melia…why did you have to go so soon?" Jonathan muttered to himself, as he crouched down and closed the bag before picking it up. Though his brain strongly believed that Melia had passed on, his heart refused to yield and believed that somewhere, somehow, Melia had escaped and is being held somewhere. If she is alive out there, than it is Jonathan's duty to return her bag with her, and continue liberating the Shadow Pokémon from Team Xen's clutches. Then, maybe then, can Jonathan finally come clean with his feelings. The young man sighed to himself, before proceeding to exit the cave.

 **Done. Sorry for the late update, but I was tasked with archiving several pages from a website I used to frequent. I'd gotten most of it done, but there's still a few bits left.**

 **In regard to Jonathan's Frosthra, the reason it isn't the usual blue/white is because it's a shiny Frosthra. It's a little nod to my Pokémon Uranium save file where I was lucky enough to catch a shiny Colarva and trained it up. The Frosthra will be Jonathan's ONLY Shiny Pokémon, since I don't want him to become a Gary Stu. The next chapter will be a little shorter, as it will focus on a couple of the side quests in Gearen, mainly the first Hidden Library quest.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Previously, Jonathan, Venam and Ren worked together to defeat Zetta and his Dimensional Galvantula, but were too late to rescue Melia. Zetta was then teleported away somewhere by Crescent and her Gothitelle.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, it is the property of its creator, SuperJanBro.**

Chapter 8:

 **Gearen City: Help Centre**

Jonathan sighed to himself as he entered the building, still devastated over the events that occurred in Amethyst Cave. It was clear that the trip has negatively affected everyone, especially Venam since Melia was her best friend after all. The young man figured that tackling a help request or two would put his mind at ease. Walking up to the front counter, the young man inquired if there were any new requests that came in.

"As a matter of fact, we did receive a new request an hour ago. Something to do with a library if I recalled…" the receptionist told him, as she walked to the pin board behind her desk and retrieved a piece of paper, handing it to the young man.

"Thanks Ma'am." Jonathan replied, as he walked over to an empty seat and began reading the request

' _Legend has it that a secret library exists somewhere beneath Gearen. I need someone to help me figure out where it's located. I shall be inside Gearen Laboratory, in case you need any more info.'_ The paper read. Pocketing it in his trenchcoat, the young man exited the Help Centre and proceeded to his destination. When the young man arrived at his destination, he took out the sheet of paper and held it in the air to attract the client's attention. Jonathan was soon greeted by a young man with spiky black hair, a white shirt and jeans that were stained with what looked like dirt, and carried a large backpack on his back. Jonathan deduced that his client was the type of person who enjoyed the outdoors.

"Ah, so you found my request I see." The young man commented. "The name's Clyde. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Yeah, it's a pleasure to meet you." Jonathan replied, as the two men shook hands. "Now I take it you need my help finding the library."

"Correct. I first heard about the library when I was reading a book that detailed the history of the Aevium Region. There was this one chapter that talked about a library that housed untold knowledge of ancient civilisations and Pokémon, including the Garufa." Clyde explained.

"The Garufa…I recall hearing that name before." Jonathan said.

"Ah, so you've heard of them before." Clyde replied. "Did you know that they despised Pokémon and regarded them as vile pests?"

"No, but I do know that they sacrificed Pokémon and used their souls to obtain magical powers." Jonathan replied.

"But there's more to them than that. Which is why I need your help in finding the secrets of the Garufa." Clyde told him. "I highly doubt we'll find the library right away, but at least we'll be able to generate some sort of lead."

"Ok, where do you want me to start looking?" Jonathan inquired, as he brought out a pen and a small notepad from his bag.

"There are three people who have the information I need; a woman in Leaflet Park. The receptionist at the Chrisola Hotel, and finally, the leader of a local gang, Karrina." Clyde listed off the people, as Jonathan jotted the info down on the notepad.

"Alright then, I better get going." Jonathan said, as he turned and proceeded to exit the building. The young man began walking around the large city, in order to find the Leaflet Park his client mentioned. It was a few minutes later that Jonathan spotted what looked like a middle-aged woman, who wore an expensive orange dress and had her short brown hair done up into a bun. She was sitting down on a bench with a boy of around five years old, whom he assumed was the woman's son.

"Excuse me miss, mind if I ask you a few questions?" Jonathan asked politely.

"Not at all." The woman turned to face the young man, making sure her son didn't wander off. "What would you like to know?"

"Do you know anything about the Hidden Library?" the young man asked, as a thoughtful look appeared on the woman's face.

"I used to be a history teacher at the local school, so I know a thing or two about it." she began. "The library was built for the sole purpose of preserving all the knowledge the Garufa civilisation had. They constructed it so that only they can access its vast archives. However since the Garufa are no longer around, access to the library would be impossible, unless a descendant were to be found." She explained, as Jonathan jotted it all down on his notepad.

"Is that all?" he asked, with the woman nodding her head in confirmation. "Alright then, thank you for your time miss."

"No problem. It's nice to see someone as young as you take an interest in history." The woman smiled, as the two parted ways. Jonathan crossed her name out; and pondered on who to go to next. Since he had no idea who Karrina was, he figured that it would be best to go to the Chrisola Hotel. He continued walking through the city until he stumbled upon a massive building sitting upon a fairly high ledge. The building was a pristine white, as if it had just been built the previous day, alongside a large garden that features several small fountains with a Lilligant statue in the middle. There were also several flowerbeds that featured a diverse range of brightly coloured flowers that appeared to be perfectly healthy. Had it not been for the fact that he was doing a job for someone, Jonathan would have sat down on one of the benches and continued eyeing up the marvellous garden. The young man got back on track and entered the large building, where he was in for another visual treat.

The interior of the building was just as, if not, more beautiful than the outside. There were pristine white tiles covering the floor with a red rug running from the entrance, to the large stairway at the back, and continued to make a path of sort to the various attractions in the hotel, from the swimming pool, to the gambling room, and even an indoor arena for Pokémon battles. In the centre of the foyer was another one of those Lilligant fountains, only this one was a lot larger. The young man spotted a fairly old gentleman behind the counter, wearing a brown suit and matching hat, and sported a bushy white moustache. Jonathan got in line and waited for around fifteen minutes, before it was his turn to get served.

"Good morning young man. How can I be of service?" The receptionist greeted in a regal tone.

"This is a rather nice hotel you have here, sir." Jonathan commented.

"Indeed, the Chrisola Hotel is the most luxurious building in Gearen City. You seem a bit too young to be renting a hotel room on your own, but so long as you have the money, you can rent yourself a room here." The old man began.

"And how much are these rooms?" Jonathan inquired.

"100 billion Pokédollars per hour." The man stated.

"WHHHHHHAAAAAAAAA?! You can't be serious!" Jonathan exclaimed, as he jumped back a few feet in shock and landed on his backside, with the receptionist lightly chuckling in response.

"I jest about the price, but it's still too high for an average citizen like yourself." The receptionist said, as Jonathan got up off the floor. "Now is there anything else you want to ask?"

"Yeah, do you know about the Hidden Library?" The young man asked.

"The Hidden Library? Perhaps you aren't an ordinary citizen after all…" the old man mused to himself. "Ah yes, it's truly a fascinating mystery. It was built in the southern most area of Aevium, so the Garufa can access it easily via sea. The library was built to last, meaning there's a very good chance that it survived the catastrophe that rocked this region decades ago." The old man continued, as Jonathan jotted it all down on the notepad.

"Thank you for your time sir." Jonathan thanked the man, as he proceeded to exit the luxurious building. As the young man exited the hotel, he crossed the receptionist's name out and began pondering on his next destination.

' _The last parson I need to talk to is this Karrina lady. But who is she, and where could she be?'_ He thought to himself. _'I'll try by the docks first. If she's not there, then I'll check out the sewers.'_ The young man proceeded to make his way to the eastern docks. After a few minutes of walking, he had arrived at his destination and spotted a group of people crowded by the entrance to what looked like a fairly small house. The pavement had a few cracks in it and were coated in a thin layer of grime and dirt, with the waves crashing against the lone dock beside the house. Jonathan figured that the best course of action would be to ask the group of people where Karrina was, provided she was a part of the group.

"Excuse me, do any of you know where Karrina is?" Jonathan asked the group, as they turned around and eyed him suspiciously.

"Who wants to know?" a young boy wearing a yellow t-shirt and blue shorts replied.

"My name's Jonathan, and I have a few questions I would like to ask her." The young man answered. The group chattered amongst themselves for a minute before the young boy from before walked up to the house and knocked on the metal door.

"Lady Karrina, there's someone out here who wants to talk to you." The boy called out as he stepped back from the door. The door opened, as a cute young lady in her early 20's stepped outside. She had short orange hair with a bun done up in the back, and wore a black sleeveless dress and matching high-heels, as well as what looked like a bracelet on her right wrist. The lady gazed at Jonathan for a few seconds before walking up to him.

"And just who are you exactly? I haven't seen you around this part of town before." Karrina asked.

"Ah, my name's Jonathan. It's a pleasure to meet you m'lady." The young man introduced himself, tipping his fedora. An intrigued look appeared on Karrina's face.

"Wait…are you that young man who trounced Venam in a Gym Battle?" she inquired.

"Well if you're asking whether I defeated her, than yes." Jonathan replied. The crowd behind Karrina began muttering amongst themselves again.

"No way…"

"Oh wow! I can't believe this is happening."

"The Trainer from Tandor is here."

"Do you think he could defeat Karrina in battle?"

"Hmmm, what's going on?" Jonathan inquired, curious about what the group were talking about.

"Oh you see, our little gang have been hearing some pretty slick things about you." Karrina smiled.

"Wait, you're all part of a gang?!" the young man exclaimed, surprised at what he heard.

"Yep, and I'm the gang leader." Karrina added. "I may not look the part, but when I say I mean business, I really mean business."

"Ah, so I take it that a gang leader like you has heard about the Hidden Library." Jonathan said, as Karrina raised one of her eyebrows.

"I might know a thing or two about the Hidden Library." She replied coolly.

"Great! Mind if you tell me please?" Jonathan asked.

"Sure." The young lady smiled. "But on one condition…"

"Oh? And what could that be?" he inquired, as Karrina retrieved a Pokéball from her handbag.

"It's been a while since I last had a Pokémon battle, and I've been itching to have one with the Trainer from Tandor. Defeat me and I shall tell you everything." Karrina answered.

"Alright then, I'm down with that!" Jonathan replied. "But where will we battle..."

"The Chrisola Hotel has an indoor arena we can use. I'll meet you there; don't be late." The young lady replied, as she made her way to the hotel. Jonathan shrugged his shoulders and soon followed after her.

 **Chrisola Hotel: Indoor Arena.**

The arena was just as pristine as the hotel that housed it. There was a ledge that rested some chairs and tables where the hotel guests can sit and watch the battle, as well as a few bookcases that held books detailing the various strategies that top-tier trainers use.

"Ah good, you didn't chicken out." Karrina commented, as she saw Jonathan walk down the stairs and towards the arena.

"I wouldn't turn down a battle unless I really have to." He replied. "That and I really need the info…"

"Well let's get ourselves into position." The young lady said, as both trainers got into position at both ends of the arena. "I will warn you, I'm pretty strong."

"Heh, I can say the same thing about me!" Jonathan smirked, as he retrieved a Pokéball from his belt. "Go Glavinug!" he sent out his trusty Pokémon, whom materialised out of the Pokéball and chirped happily.

"Hmmm, that's your first choice? In that case, I choose you Mandibuzz!" Karrina sent out her first Pokémon, as the Bone Vulture Pokémon materialised from its ball and began flapping it's wings on the spot. This confused the young man; Mandibuzz may have good defences, but it's vulnerable to Ice type moves. What was she playing at?

"Alright Glavinug, use Ice Beam!" Jonathan called out, as Glavinug charged up it's attack and fired a beam of frozen energy at it's foe.

"Dodge and counter with Steel Wing!" Karrina responded, as Mandibuzz dodged the attack and swooped down at Glavinug, the Bone Vulture's wings glowing with a silver aura. The attack struck the Sea Slug Pokémon head-on, as it chirped out in surprise and was pushed a few feet back.

' _So that's why she sent it out, it has an attack that can deal with Ice type Pokémon.'_ Jonathan thought to himself. "Glavinug, use Reflect!" he called out, as the Sea Slug Pokémon created a wondrous wall of light to boost it's defences.

"Hmmm, not bad." Karrina mused. "But it's going to take more than that to catch me off guard. Mandibuzz, use Dark Pulse!" The Mandibuzz took to the air and begun flapping it's wing rapidly, creating a horrible aura and flung it towards Glavinug, who dodged the attack and retaliated with an Ice Beam, dealing a fair amount of damage to it's opponent.

"Alright! Now that's what I'm talking about." Jonathan cheered. "Let's do that again, Ice Beam!"

"Not on my watch! Use U-Turn!" Karrina declared. The Bone Vulture Pokémon swooped down at it's opponent, dodging the incoming Ice Beam on the way. It struck Glavinug head on before it swooped back towards Karrina and entered it's Pokéball. "Now Venomoth, let's finish our opponent!" the young lady sent out her next Pokémon, with her Pokémon flitting about near its trainer.

"Gl-Glavinug, use Bubblebeam!" Jonathan called out, a little surprised at Karrina's tactics. The Sea Slug Pokémon launched a barrage of bubbles at the Venomoth, dealing a fair bit of damage to it.

"Go Venomoth, use Sludge Bomb!" the young lady responded, as the Moth Pokémon hurled a barrage of noxious sludge at it's opponent, causing the Glavinug to cry out in shock as it was sent flying into a wall and was knocked out.

"Ahh…not bad, not bad at all." Jonathan muttered, recalling his fainted Pokémon. "Guess it's time to make a comeback, go Brainoar!" the young man sent out his next Pokémon. The Brain Eel Pokémon gazed in the direction of it's opponent, it's calmness slightly unnerving the Venomoth.

"Interesting Pokémon…let's see if it can withstand a Signal Beam from my Venomoth." Karrina commented, as her Venomoth generated a ball of multi-coloured energy and formed it into a beam before firing it at the Brainoar.

"Use Water Pulse to counter the attack!" Jonathan called out, as the Brain Eel Pokémon charged up a ball of water and fired it at the incoming beam, causing the two attacks to collide with each other and explode. "Good, now follow up with Psychic!" the young man added, with Brainoar staring at the Moth Pokémon as it was soon coated in a blue aura. The Venomoth began to panic and attempted to break free from the oppressive aura, but it soon learned that it was unable to. The Brainoar proceeded to raise it's arms in the air, with the Venomoth following suit. Suddenly, the Brain Eel Pokémon flung it's arms which caused the Venomoth to fly into a wall. When the dust settled, it revealed that Venomoth was knocked out from the attack.

"Good move, did not see that at all." Karrina complimented the young man. "But now it's time for a familiar face to make an appearance. Go Mandibuzz." She sent out her Mandibuzz for a second time. The Bone Vulture Pokémon squawked loudly before taking to the air.

"Hmmmm…perhaps a Calm Mind could help things out." Jonathan mused, as his Brainoar shut out all outside noise, and began focusing on increasing its mental strength.

"Talk about a perfect opportunity for us…" Karrina whispered to herself. "Go Mandibuzz, use U-Turn!" The Bone Vulture Pokémon squawked in approval as it proceeded to swoop down towards at its opponent. However things seem to be going too well for her liking; she failed to notice the small smirk on Jonathan's face.

"Use Ice Beam." He spoke quietly, as Brainoar charged up a beam of very cold ice and fired it at the incoming Mandibuzz, causing it to squawk in pain as it was sent back a few feet before falling to the ground, knocked out from the attack.

"This is not going the way I intended…" Karrina muttered, recalling her Pokémon and reaching for her last Pokéball. "Time for us to win this battle, go Sceptile!" the young lady sent out her most powerful Pokémon. She then pressed on her bracelet, as it and her Sceptile were surrounded by a multi-coloured ball of pure energy.

"No-no way!" Jonathan exclaimed, as the ball suddenly shattered and revealed that Sceptile had Mega-Evolved. It's body had grown taller and slightly leaner, the leaf blades on it arms grew longer and sharper, and it's tail grew much longer than before with the tree at the tip shaped like a missile.

"Oh yes way!" Karrina grinned. "Mega-Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!" The Forest Pokémon darted towards it's opponent, it's arms growing a set of bright green blades. It then struck the Brainoar with it's leaf blades, causing the Brain Eel Pokémon to moan in pain as it was sent flying towards a wall, and was knocked out instantly.

"Oh no…that attack was more powerful than I anticipated. Sorry Brainoar…" Jonathan apologised, recalling his Pokémon. "Now it's time to get serious, go Vilucard!" the young man sent out his trusty partner, who materialised from it's Pokéball and chuckled at the Mega-Sceptile. "Use Sludge Bomb!" the young man called out, as the Mischievous Pokémon hurled a barrage of sludge at its opponent, dealing a fair amount of damage to the Mega-Sceptile.

"Heh, is that all you got?" Karrina asked. "Go Mega-Sceptile, use Dragon Pulse!" The Forest Pokémon charged up a ball of pure energy and fired it at Vilucard, causing it to hiss in pain and send it flying back a few feet.

"Ah! Are you ok?" Jonathan asked his Pokémon, whom nodded weakly. "In that case, use Drain Life to recover some energy!" The Vilucard snickered as it ran towards its opponent, with Mega-Sceptile bracing for the attack. However at the last second, Vilucard proceeded to disappear into the shadows, confusing the Forest Pokémon. It began looking around the room for its opponent, unaware that the Vilucard had snuck up onto it's back and began climbing up it. It then proceeded to sink it's fangs into the Mega-Sceptile, causing it to cry in pain as it's energy was getting drained.

"Oh no!" Karrina called out, as Mega-Sceptile began shaking its back in an attempt to get the Villainous Pokémon off it's back. After half a minute of struggling, the Mega-Sceptile managed to dislodge the Vilucard and smack it with it's long tail, sending it flying towards Jonathan.

"Clever move…" Jonathan pointed out. "But I feel it's time we finished this. Use Zen Headbutt!" The young man called out, as Vilucard's head began glowing a bright blue aura and proceeded to charge towards its opponent.

"Mega-Sceptile, use Leaf Blade to finish off our opponent!" Karrina responded, as Mega-Sceptile's blades began to grow and glow and proceeded to charge towards its opponent. The two Pokémon collided with each other, causing a large amount of dust to blanket the field, with both trainers coughing in response. Once the dust had settled down, it showed a weakened Vilucard standing over a fainted Sceptile, who had been reverted back from it's Mega Evolution.

"Looks like you won this match." Karrina commented, recalling her Pokémon.

"Well done Vilucard!" Jonathan praised his partner, recalling it back into its ball as well. "Now then, I believe we had a deal where if I won, you'll tell me all you know about the Hidden Library."

"Quite right." Karrina smiled. "The Hidden Library was built in a secret underground location, most likely to protect it from would be thieves. But here's the thing; as a gang leader around these parts, I have access to a lot of the tunnels here. And I never saw anything that resembled a library in the slightest. Wherever it's hidden, it must be a discrete location." The young lady explained, as Jonathan jotted it down on the notepad.

"Alright then. Thanks for that Karrina." Jonathan said. "Perhaps we'll see each other again."

"Indeed. If we do see each other again, then be ready for a rematch." Karrina replied, as the two trainers parted ways. Crossing her name off the notepad, the young man proceeded to return to his client at the Gearen Laboratory.

 **Gearen Laboratory**

"Hmmm…this is some nice info you dug up." Clyde mused, reading the notepad in his hands. "I take it that you asked all three of them."

"Why yes I did." Jonathan replied. "What I got down was all they knew."

"Based on the information we have here, the library could be in two places. Either under an unknown area of Gearen, or…" Clyde began, before his expression dropped like a bag of rocks.

"Huh? What's the matter?" Jonathan inquired.

"Submerged, underwater…" Clyde continued, his usually chipper expression replaced with a sullen one. "In both cases, I'm royally screwed."

"Why so? Couldn't you get some assistance to help you search?" Jonathan asked.

"That would require a lot of money, which is something I don't have." Clyde explained. "Thanks for helping me out mate, I have your reward here." He handed Jonathan a small box, and proceeded to leave the Laboratory. Jonathan opened the box and saw at least a dozen Great Balls; perfect for catching Team Xen's Shadow Pokémon.

' _Now that I got that out of the way, what should I do next? Maybe go to that Sheridan Village that Ren suggested and get my next Gym Badge?'_ Jonathan mused to himself. _'Either way, it's getting late and I should rest up for the night.'_ The young man put his Great Balls into his bag and proceeded to rent a room for the night in order to rest up for the next day.

 **So this chapter didn't have a lot happen in it. I figured that I should do a little 'rest' chapter, where Jonathan takes on the first Hidden Library quest. The next chapter should have some more plot related events happen and depending on the circumstances, may also feature the first battle against Keta.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Previously, Jonathan assisted a man named Clyde, who was searching for information regarding a hidden library said to contain a massive trove on knowledge.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, it is the property of its creator, SuperJanBro.**

Chapter 9:

 **The next morning**

Jonathan had finished packing his bag and tidied up the room he stayed in for the night, as he prepared himself for the next day. His next destination; Sheridan Village, the location of the second Gym in the Aevium League. The young man's mind was feeling a lot better than it had been for the last few days, which would make the upcoming battle a lot easier since it would mean that Jonathan would be able to make logical decisions easier. The young man exited the laboratory and proceeded to make his way to Gearen Station, in order to catch a train. When he arrived at the train station, Jonathan walked up to the counter and requested a ticket to the station on Route 2, which he received and paid for. He then entered the train and sat down on an empty seat, as the train proceeded to leave the station. The young man looked out the window, and saw the lush cherry blossoms that made Route 2 famous, the bright pink grass growing by the tall trees. Around five minutes later, the train arrived at the station, with the young man hopping out and began the trek to Amethyst Cave.

"Hopefully I don't have a repeat of what happened last time…" the young man muttered to himself, remembering all the mishaps the young man had with Nim. She was a nice person, but he wasn't in the mood for any of her tricks today. After a few minutes, he found himself at the familiar entrance of Amethyst Cave, the crystals by the cave mouth reflecting the sunlight and illuminating the cave. He took a deep breath and entered the cave for the second time, and walked down the same path that he went down the first time. However when he arrived at the fork in the road, he went down the northern path, since the south path lead to a dead end…and many bad memories. After walking down the northern path for a few minutes, Jonathan entered a new room and was amazed at what he saw.

The cavern had a large pool of water in the middle of the room that was created as a result of a fairly tall waterfall. There was lush patches of grass growing by the edge of the water, with several Bug, Grass and Water type Pokémon making their home in the undergrowth. Like the rest of the cave, there were fist-sized amethyst crystals growing from the walls and even the ground. It was then that Jonathan noticed something going on by the top of the waterfall, what looked like some coloured specks clashing with each other. The young man edged closer to the top and realised that it was Karrina and a few members of her gang fighting what appeared to be another gang.

"Uhh, what's going on here?" Jonathan asked Karrina, who turned around and noticed the young man running up to her.

"Ah, perfect timing. We're preventing a rival gang from entering Gearen City." Karrina explained. "I'm a bit busy here, so if you could fight the rival leader, that'll be sweet."

"Alright then, which one of these chumps is the leader?" Jonathan asked, as Karrina pointed to a rather imposing man by the edge of the waterfall. He had wavy grey hair that reached the base of his neck, and a matching colour beard. He had a rotund figure and wore a black leather jacket, a grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans with a few tears in the knees.

"Ha! You must be that punk Karrina was yapping on about." The leader scoffed. "I'm Charly, of the Charly Horse gang. If you think you can beat me, then you must be sorely mistaken. Go, Primeape!" He sent out his Pokémon, with the Pig Monkey Pokémon jumping up and down on the spot and throwing a few mock punches.

"In that case, I choose you Harptera!" Jonathan sent out his Dragonfly Pokémon, as it hovered in the air and locked eyes with the Primeape.

"Ha, I'll crush that wimpy little pest!" Charly bragged. "Primeape, use Rock Slide!" The Primeape barrelled towards a large boulder and lifted it off the ground, before throwing it into the air using its enormous strength. It then jumped into the air and landed a barrage of lightning-quick punches that shattered the boulder into small rocks, which proceeded to hurtle towards Harptera.

"Dodge and retaliate with Aerial Ace!" Jonathan called out. The Harptera proceeded to flit through the air, dodging the incoming rocks as it charged towards the Primeape at high speeds, landing a direct hit on the Pig Monkey Pokémon and causing it to be sent flying back a few feet and hitting the ground hard. The Primeape leapt up from the ground and glared at it's opponent and proceeded to jump up and down on the spot, steam coming out of it's nostrils and it's blood pressure increasing. The young man knew that it would only be a matter of time before the Primeape started one of it's rampages that the species is infamous for. He had to knock it out quick, or it would cause some major havoc. The Primeape's body was coated in a harsh orange aura as it proceeded to charge at the Dragonfly Pokémon.

"Superpower…never knew you learnt the move." Charly muttered to himself, before he sneered at Jonathan. "Now what are you going to do, punk?"

"What I'm going to do is send you and your Primeape packing!" Jonathan retorted. "Harptera, use Aerial Ace again!" The Dragonfly Pokémon proceeded to dart towards the infuriated Primeape a second time, its body glowing a sky blue. It collided into the Primeape and sent it hurtling into a decent sized boulder, knocking the Pig Monkey out.

"Argh…you got lucky there!" Charly growled, recalling his Primeape and reaching for another Pokéball. "But now it's time for my Vigoroth to punish you!" he sent out his next Pokémon, with the Wild Monkey Pokémon materialising from it's Pokéball and started to jump on the spot incredibly quickly.

"This could be a bit tricky…" Jonathan mused to himself, before making a decision on his next move. "Harptera, use X-Scissor!"

"I'll take you out before you even get a chance to strike me! Vigoroth, use Uproar!" Charly retorted. The Vigoroth inhaled deeply and proceeded to unleash an ear-splitting screech that caused everyone else in the room to cover their ears in pain. The screech echoed throughout the cave, intensifying it even further and causing a few stalactites to start quivering in their spot, before they broke off from the ceiling and came hurtling down. Several Pokémon on Karrina's side, including Jonathan's Harptera were struck by the falling rocks and were knocked out as a result.

"Ahh…that came out of nowhere." Jonathan winced, as he recalled his fainted Pokémon and reached for another ball. "Guess it's time for Drilgann to take a stand!" the young man sent out his next Pokémon, who materialised from it's ball and stared at the hostile Vigoroth. The Vigoroth took in another deep breath and let out a screech that echoed through the cave once more. Drilgann took the initiative and burrowed underground to evade the noise pollution, as it burrowed its way towards Vigoroth. A few seconds later, it emerged from the ground and tackled Vigoroth, causing it to fly up in the air.

"Is that all you got? Vigoroth, use Focus Energy, followed up by Slash!" Charly called out. The Vigoroth leapt down onto a boulder and focused all of its attention towards the Drilgann. It's body shone a bright white for a few seconds, as the Vigoroth sneered at its opponents, eager to land a critical hit on the Drilgann. The Vigoroth the charged at the Drill Pokémon, the Wild Monkey's claws glowing harshly as it proceeded to land a deadly slash on the mole's body, causing it to moan in pain.

"Argh…that looked like it hurt." Jonathan winced, cringing at what he saw. "I better end this battle quickly. Drilgann, use Crunch!" The Drilgann glared at the Vigoroth and proceeded to sink its fangs into the Wild Monkey, causing it to howl in pain. The giant mole shook its victim side-to-side for a bit, before proceeding to fling it into the boulder, causing it the shatter into lots of smaller rocks. When the dust settled, it showed that the Vigoroth was knocked out from the attack.

"Grrr! This isn't over!" Charly growled, recalling his Vigoroth and reaching for his last Pokéball. "Machamp, annihilate these weaklings!" The Superpower Pokémon emerged from it's Pokéball and sneered at the Drilgann, while it flexed it's thick, muscular arms.

"Dr-Drilgann, use Earthquake!" Jonathan stuttered, intimidated by the powerful Machamp. The mole Pokémon raised it's forelegs up in the air and slammed them down on the ground, causing it to tremble as a few more stalactites fell from the ceiling and crashed onto the ground. The Machamp winced in pain as it attempted to maintain it's balance while getting pelted by the falling rocks.

"Machamp, retaliate with Vital Throw!" Charly called out loudly. The Machamp barrelled towards Drilgann and hoisted it above its shoulders, before throwing it towards the wall behind Jonathan. The young man ran up to his fainted Pokémon and checked to see if there was any serious damage, which there wasn't thankfully.

"Sorry about that…" he apologised to his trusted comrade, as he recalled it into its Pokéball before reaching for another one. "Alright then, time to avenge your fallen comrade Frosthra!" the young man sent out his majestic Frost Moth Pokémon, as it flitted in the air and spread small snowflakes all throughout the room, capturing everyone's attention.

"Oh wow…now that looks amazing." Karrina stared in awe.

"Hah! That bug may look pretty, but I'll crush it into little pieces." Charly sneered. "Machamp, use Cross Chop!"

"Not today mate!" Jonathan quipped. "Frosthra, send your opponent into the next Ice Age with Blizzard!" The Machamp crossed its arms and charged at the Frosthra, ready to land a decisive blow. Frosthra retaliated by flapping it's large wings rapidly to create a powerful blizzard that chilled Machamp down to the bone. The Superpower Pokémon started to panic as it was starting to get frozen on the spot, it's body becoming a prisoner of the relentless cold. A few seconds later, it was completely enveloped in ice as Charly gawked at the Frosthra in surprise.

"This isn't over Karrina!" Charly barked at her, recalling his Machamp. "I'll get you next time, and your mate won't be there to save your skin!" Karrina and her gang cheered as the Charly Horses began a hasty retreat.

"You're amazing Jonathan! We couldn't have won without you!" Karrina thanked the young man.

"Ehh, I was in the area." Jonathan replied, recalling his Frosthra. "I got to get going, wouldn't want to be late for my next Gym Battle."

"If there's anything you need, then don't hesitate to give me a call. I'm sure we can work something out." Karrina offered, as the two went their separate ways.

 **5 minutes later**

Jonathan had finally emerged from Amethyst cave and arrived at a quaint little village. The village was split up into two parts; the residential district where the majority of the citizens lived that was south of a large lake that stemmed from a large waterfall; and the commercial district where the shops and important buildings were located. The young man then spotted two people who appeared to be bickering amongst each other. The first one was an old lady who wore a long lilac dress and had grey hair that reached the top of her shoulders. The second person was a girl around his age who had magenta hair done up in a ponytail, and wore a grey t-shirt with red sleeves, purple sweat shorts and white sneakers.

"Aelita, the Sensei must have his reasons for shutting himself off." The old lady said. "You need to realize this."

"But Sheridan Village is a place of community! It's always been our pride and joy to be united as one!" the now named Aelita argued. "Now people are leaving from the village, just like the legend said would happen. What are we supposed to do about this?"

"Just because some people leave the community, doesn't mean that it's the end. Our village has been through many hardships, and has always came out stronger for it." the old lady replied calmly, in an attempt to get Aelita to see reason.

"Is that right?! Well that's reassuring…" Aelita said, as she started to calm down from her previous outburst.

"Yes it is, young one. Never give up hope, as it will show up even when things seem hopeless." The elder motivated the young woman.

"You're right! In fact, I'm going to speak to Sensei right now." Aelita smiled, as she made her way to the large building built into the waterfall.

"Wait! Now's not the right—"the old woman began, but was too late. "There's so much of Vivian in that lass…" she muttered as she turned around and was surprised to see Jonathan standing by the cave entrance.

"Ah, my apologies." Jonathan apologised.

"No need to say sorry young man. Welcome to Sheridan Village." The elder greeted the young man. "Please enjoy yourself and become one with your mind and soul."

"Alright then, thank you miss." The young man thanked her, as she proceeded to make her way into the village. "Now then, time for a little look around…"

The young man proceeded to make his way to the commercial district, where he'd seen Aelita heading towards. After all, maybe she'll know where the Gym Leader is. Jonathan then walked up a set of stairs and saw what looked like a battleground painted on an island in the middle of the river that flowed through the village. There were two trainers battling each other with their Fighting type Pokémon, as if it were a martial arts tournament.

' _So from the look of things, the residents here use Fighting type Pokémon.'_ Jonathan thought to himself, as he began planning on which Pokémon to use. Fighting type Pokémon are strong against a lot of types, but also had several weaknesses. Flying type Pokémon were out of the question since most Fighting type Pokémon can learn Rock type moves to counter them. Psychic type Pokémon are a good option, as they can hit hard and fast. However most Psychic type Pokémon are quite frail, and can't take much punishment. Sighing to himself, Jonathan took his attention away from the battle and made his way to the building built into the waterfall.

When he entered the building, he was greeted by a middle aged man with short black hair, who wore a purple jacket, a white undershirt and a pair of grey sweatpants with black socks. The man had a sullen expression on his face, as if he was experiencing a bout of depression.

"Oh look…another trainer has come to claim my badge." The man sighed, clearly not in the mood to battle Jonathan. "You trainers are all the same; going above and beyond human capabilities, and for what, a silly little piece of metal? But you most likely don't give a damn about me rambling. That's fine, no one usually does."

"I-if you want I can come back another time. I have no problem with it." Jonathan suggested, as the man gazed inquisitively at him.

"Forgive me for grouping you with other trainers, there's clearly something…different about you." The man apologised. "However I will need to test this. I need you to go into Amethyst Cave and find the secret grotto. Once you find it, I need you to retrieve a Soul Stone. Do this, and I'll battle you for a badge."

"Alright then, I'll get you a Soul Stone, whatever it is." Jonathan replied, as he exited the house and made his way back to Amethyst Cave.

 **1 hour later**

Jonathan had searched every nook and cranny he could think of in the quest for this Soul Stone that the Gym Leader wanted. He had found a little alcove which had a large red crystal growing out of the ground. The young man sat down on the ground and leant on the crystal, when he was startled by the ground beneath his feet trembling. The mini quake lasted for around ten seconds, when it suddenly stopped, and was followed by what sounded like a door opening. Jonathan turned to his side and saw that there was a new entrance, one that hadn't been there before.

"Ahh, just like in Goldenwood Forest, where I was helping…Melia…" the young man mused to himself, before he clammed up and was overcome with grief. He still wasn't over her tragic death; it felt like yesterday that he laid eyes on her bloodstained bag. A part of him blamed Ren for her death, as the man was too busy worrying over some fucking spiders. Picking himself up off the ground, Jonathan proceeded to enter the newly formed entrance and was amazed at what he saw.

The Amethyst Grotto had a wide variety of lush green grass, and even had a few brick walls around the place. There was also a mysterious fog that blanketed the grotto. It was as if the young man had stumbled into the courtyard of a medieval castle. Just then, a ghostly figure appeared out of thin air and began gazing at Jonathan. The young man looked at it carefully, it looked a lot like the Gym Leader who sent him here to begin with.

"Follow me…" the ghostly figure called out, beckoning Jonathan to follow it. The young man obliged and proceeded to follow the figure deeper into the grotto, baffled by how the Gym Leader could be in Sheridan Village, yet his soul wandered the grotto. Perhaps it was why the man was so depressed when they talked to each other. Eventually, the ghost led the young man to a chamber that had a pedestal in the centre, as well as a pair of imposing Arceus statues.

"I should tell you that I am not Keta, or at least his physical form." The ghost broke the ice. "I am the manifestation of his emotions and soul."

"Uhh…mind telling me what's going on here?" Jonathan asked, confused by all of what he's hearing.

"Keta has a lot of darkness surrounding his past. Every day was another day in hell to him. He could not handle the guilt inside of him, so he used a secret power located in Sheridan to separate us." Keta's soul explained. "Thus I was born into this world, and subsequently banished to this grotto."

"That makes sense, I guess…" Jonathan replied, curious on what power could separate a person soul from their physical body.

"It's quite odd how Keta sent a random trainer here in his steed. Has he gotten desperate, or does he see something special in you?" Keta's soul mused, before he looked up at Jonathan. "Tell me, do you know that Keta's a member of Team Xen?"

"Wait, what?!" Jonathan exclaimed. "I never knew that."

"Mm, didn't think so. You have no reason to fear us. I believe that my physical form sent you here, because he still cannot destroy his guilt." Keta's soul commented. "He's too prideful to face himself, a pity if I say so myself. Since you're apparently special enough to enter this sacred place, then maybe things can change if you battle him."

"Sounds like a plan." Jonathan declared. "The only problem is that I need a Soul Stone."

"A Soul Stone?" Keta's soul asked, as he turned around and retrieved a clear crystal orb from the pedestal, and handed it to the young man. "By showing Keta how you battle, perhaps his mind shall be swayed to the right path. He'll finally put an end to this, once and for all." The spirit proceeded to fade into the same fog that he appeared from. Jonathan looked at the Soul Stone in the palm of his hand, before pocketing it and making his way back towards Sheridan Village.

 **I do apologise for the late update, I've just been suffering from some serious writers block lately. The next chapter should have the battle between Jonathan and Keta.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone, this is the Godfeather with some sad news for you. Due to how busy I've been with my college studies, I'm unable to continue Pokémon Rejuvenation: Xen's Shadow. However, I was contacted by an author known by the moniker Rider of Black 00, and they've expressed interest in taking over the fic. I trust that they'll be able to write an enjoyable story for you to enjoy. Thank you for all the positive support you gave me during my time writing the story.**

 **Signed: The Godfeather.**


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